Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang talks with Indian scholars and students (Photo: VNA)New Delhi (VNA) - Vietnamese PresidentTran Dai Quang talked with nearly 300 Indian politicians, professors, researchers,scholars and students at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library in New Delhi onMarch 4 morning (local time) during his three-day State visit to India.
The following is the full text of President TranDai Quang’s speech at the event.
VIETNAM – INDIA: STRENGTHENING COMPREHENSIVESTRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP FOR THE INTEREST OF THE TWO PEOPLES; FOR PEACE, STABILITYAND PROSPERITY IN THE REGION AND THE WORLD
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Namaste,
I am very pleased to have the opportunity tobe here and speak with the politicians, professors, researchers, scholars, andstudents at the Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, the place which enshrinesthe historic relics of the life and work of Jawaharlal Nehru - a great Indianleader whose entire life was devoted to India's freedom and independence, and to peace and friendship amongnations. To President Ho Chi Minh and the people of Vietnam he was a great andclose friend.
Atthe beginning may I express my gratitude to the Indian Government, the IndianFoundation, and to all of you present here, for making possible this meaningfulgathering. Your presence here is a strong expression of the interest inrelations between Vietnam and India and the desire to join hearts and hands forpeace, stability, cooperation, and development in the Indian Ocean and theAsia-Pacific.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Duringthese first two decades of the 21st century our world has witnessedmany rapid, profound, and comprehensive changes. One of the most dramatic andinspirational of them all is the rise of Asia.
Justa hundred years ago the vast majority of the continent, India and Vietnamincluded, lay engulfed in the long darkness of colonialism, wars, andbackwardness. Few could have imagined that one century from those dark days,Asia would rise to become a geo-politic, geo-economic, and cultural center ofthe world. Almost every global forecast today agrees on one thing: this centuryshall be the Asian Century.
Withinonly a few decades the world has witnessed the miracles of India, China, Japan,the Republic of Korea, and the ASEAN countries. It is a fascinating coincidencethat all of these miracles have converged around the Indian Ocean and theAsia-Pacific.
Alongwith globalization and regionalization, the trends of linkage and integration,and the impacts of the revolution in science and technology, our region inrecent years has yielded a cornucopia of long-term ideas, initiatives, andstrategies for cooperation that are both inter-regional and global in scope. I wouldlike briefly to name a few: the Regional Comprehensive Economic PartnershipAgreement between ASEAN and its six partners; India's “Act East” Policy;China's “Belt and Road Initiative”; Japan's “Free and Open Indo-PacificStrategy”; the United States' “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Vision”; and, mostrecently, the establishment of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement forTrans-Pacific Partnership, joined by eleven economies on both sides of thePacific.
Allthese undertakings are raising the status and attractiveness of our region to anew level never seen before in history. Should all of the aforementioned cometo fruition as per the statements of their founders, we will see the creationof a new space of security and development, comprising the Indian Ocean, Asiaand the Pacific, hereafter called the Indo-Asia-Pacific. The ever-closer economic,political, and cultural ties between the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean willcreate a new driver for growth and help transform the Asian Century into the Indo-Asia-PacificCentury.
Consequently,India and Vietnam shall both be part of a vast community accounting for 60% ofthe Earth's land area, 50% of world population, and a greater share of globalGDP, trade, investment, and capacity for innovation. ASEAN and India shallbecome an integration hub with an essential role in the region’s futuredevelopment.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The achievements of the past decades in the Indo-Asia-Pacificprovide a solid foundation to further strengthen and foster friendship andcooperation between countries both within and outside of the region, thusenabling us to make greater contributions to mankind.
However,our region is also facing notable intertwined challenges. In addition to beingthe convergence point of many initiatives for integration and cooperation, the Indo-Asia-Pacificis also a core theater in the competition for power and influence among majorpowers.
Furthermore,issues include regional hot-spots; armed conflicts; land, sea, and islandsovereignty disputes; contested natural resources; international terrorism andtransnational crime; and environmental pollution and climate change amongothers, all are evolving at an ever-greater scope, frequency, and level, withmore serious characteristics. There remains a stark contrast betweencooperation and competition, between moderation and extremism, between opennessand isolation, between liberalism and protectionism, between development andstagnation, between independence and dependence, between unity and division.The desire for peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the Indo-Asia-Pacifichas yet to be truly realized.
Shallthis century become the Indo-Asia-Pacific Century? Shall this region trulybecome a hub connecting resources and harmonizing interests for continuous,more dynamic, and more sustainable development?
Thisaspiration will only come true when all countries share a common vision for anopen and rules-based region, and a common interest in the maintenance of peace,stability, and inclusive prosperity, wherein no country, no nation, and nogroup shall be left behind.
Thisaspiration will only come true when all countries join together in the effortto protect the freedom of navigation and unimpeded trade and not let the Indo-Asia-Pacificbe balkanized into spheres of influence manipulated by power politics, hinderedby protectionism, or divided by narrow nationalism.
Thisaspiration will only come true when countries stand side by side to build acommon space for co-existence and development in the belief that the Indo-Asia-Pacificis vast enough for every country to flourish and prosper.
Thisaspiration will only come true when all countries make the effort to establisheffective mechanisms to maintain peace, stability, and the rule of law, so as toensure the common security, prevent conflict and war, and effectively addresssecurity challenges both traditional and non-traditional.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Indian national hero Mahatma Gandhi once urged“Youmust be the change you wish to see in the world”. This could not be truer: the realization of thisaspiration depends to a large extent on the capacity and the will of allcountries in the region -- India, Vietnam, and ASEAN included -- to join handsin cooperation.
Geographically, India and ASEAN lie at the heart of the Indo-Asia-Pacific. Historically, over the lasttwenty centuries the peoples of India and Southeast Asia have come togetherbound by the values of peace, humanism, and fraternity. Today, India is markedby rapid and sustainable development that makes an ever-greater contribution topeace, stability, and prosperity in the region. ASEAN is characterized by beingresilient, united, cohesive, well-integrated, and open in its cooperation, playingan expanding role in the region. These work together as paramount components ofpeace, cooperation, and development in the region as a whole. Herein lies ourcommon interests and shared vision, one in line with the path to development andthe constantly-growing status and stature of both India and ASEAN in theinternational arena.
For these reasons, ASEAN has strong faith and great expectationsin the vigorous growth of India, a power that is deeply aware of herresponsibilities and duties towards the international community. India shallbecome a new pole of development, an important engine for peace, prosperity, andintegration both in the Indo-Asia-Pacific and the world at large.
We wish to express our gratitude for, and most highlyappreciate, The Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement at theASEAN–India Summit in November last year: that India's “Act East” policy “is shaped around ASEAN, and its centrality inthe regional security architecture of the Indo-Pacific region”. With this policy, Indiahas been making efforts to forge substantive links, engage in deeper economicand political integration, and foster people-to-people ties with the ASEANcountries. It is obvious that only through ever-closer connectivity ininfrastructure, trade and investment, culture, education and training, and scienceand technology, and many other fields can India and ASEAN amplify theirstrength, building together upon their roles and status so as to build a commondevelopment space for peace, stability, cooperation, and development, one thatcan more effectively respond to external shocks and challenges. The 25 years ofASEAN-India relations stand as a testimony to this. Over the next 25 years,given new opportunities and challenges, strengthening ASEAN-India ties must beboth an objective necessity and a strategic choice for our two sides.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Vietnam–India diplomatic relations are about to celebrate theirsemi-centennial, yet the close ties between our two lands and peoples haveexisted for thousands of years. Such links stem not only from shared interestsbut also from the profound and enduring cultural values that we share.
As early as the 1st century CE, the venerable monkMahajivaka introduced Buddhism from India to Vietnam. The religion spreadrapidly, for its cultural and spiritual values resonated well with our nativebeliefs. The ideas of equality, fraternity, anattā / anātman (non-self), and altruism thatBuddhism represents have since taken root in the consciousness of theVietnamese people and become in themselves inseparable parts of Vietnameseculture.
Since the 2nd century, Hinduism has also beenpresent in Vietnam, its mark well-preserved in the Cham cultural relics incentral Vietnam, the timeless epic of Ramayana, the character of Sita giftedwith beauty and intellect, and the discipline of Yoga that is becoming ever-morepopular in everyday Vietnamese life.
Today the works of the renowned cultural personality, poet,and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore - the first Asian Nobel Laureate inLiterature -- still enchant the hearts of millions of Vietnamese with versesthat hold within them profound philosophies about the universe, humanity,happiness, and love.
During the early 20th century the paths of ourtwo countries' leaders converged in the struggle against colonialism for ourtwo peoples' independence and freedom. As early as 1943, although imprisoned,the Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh composed these heartfelt verses addressed toIndian leader Jawaharlal Nehru:
“Mycause striven, yours assayed,
Toprison you went, in jail I stayed;
Thoughcountless miles our meeting part,
Oursympathy, no words need impart.”
Exactly eleven years later, on 17 October 1954 -- just oneweek after the liberation of Ha-noi -- Prime Minister Nehru at the cordialinvitation of President Ho Chi Minh became the first foreign head of state topay a visit to Vietnam.
The image of our Indian brothers taking to the streets insupport of the righteous resistance against American imperialism of theVietnamese people, the slogan “Amar Nam, TomarNam, Vietnam, Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, Dien Bien Phu” on their lips, shall beforever etched in the consciousness of the Vietnamese people. From the bottomof our hearts, we wish to express our deepest gratitude for the pure andsincere love, unfazed by hardship and unshaken by storm as it is, that thepeople of India have given to the people of Vietnam over the years.
Today, in a rapidly changing world we are proud to witnessthe traditional, faithful friendship between our two countries and peoples not justremaining true but even flourishing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has stressed that,Vietnam is the top priority in the effort to strengthen India's relations withthe Asia-Pacific. As seen from Vietnam’s foreign policy, India has always beenone of the most important partners.
Exactly sixty years ago during his visit to India, ourbeloved President Ho Chi Minh asserted that “India is an independent and mightynation that has made many invaluable contributions to peace in Asia and theworld”. This observation remains relevant today. We are glad to note that inrecent years India's rise has been closely linked with the prosperity andaffluence of Asia as a whole. India's peaceful development has always worked asan important and constructive factor to regional peace and stability. With her vastpotential and great contributions, India surely deserves a greater role in the Indo-Asia-Pacificregion and the world.
For this reason, Vietnam welcomes India continuing to playher important role in the region. We consistently support your activeparticipation in regional linkages and cooperation mechanisms, including APEC,as well as India’s becoming a Permanent Member of the United Nations SecurityCouncil.
Today our two countries have established a ComprehensiveStrategic Partnership, setting forth our similar interests and values as wellas our understanding and position regarding regional and global issues. Our twosides are working towards implementing the 2017-2020 Action Plan, alreadyrecording significant results. Political, defense, and security cooperation hasall been expanded and become strategic pillars in our bilateral relations. Economic and trade cooperation is growingdramatically as well. Development cooperation and joint efforts in education,training, culture, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges are deepening,creating an enduring social foundation for our bilateral ties.
2017 was the “Friendship Year” celebrating the 45th anniversary of Vietnam–India cooperation. Our relations have entered a newperiod of development, and this requires renewed efforts and determination fromboth sides in order to realize always-greater achievements and live up to theexpectations of our two peoples. The goal of our Comprehensive StrategicPartnership is nothing other than a strong and prosperous Vietnam that developssustainably; a powerful India with growing prestige and status in theinternational arena; and our joint contribution towards the maintenance ofpeace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world.
To this end, I wish to share with you some of my thoughtson the future direction of Vietnam–India relations.
First, we need to strengthen economic and tradeconnectivity as a pillar and driver of the Vietnam–India ComprehensiveStrategic Partnership. Accordingly, we need to overcome the mentality ofprotectionism, promote trade/investment liberalization, and upgrade infrastructure,maritime and aviation connectivity in both the bilateral context and theframework of sub-regional and regional plans. Vietnam supports and will coordinateaccordingly so that India will become an important element in the ASEANConnectivity Master Plan, finalizing the Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership Agreement in 2018.
We should promote maritime connectivity as a key area, not justin bilateral relations but also in the context of peace, stability anddevelopment in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Our two sides need to engage in regularinformation exchanges, experience-sharing, and capacity-building in handlingmaritime security matters. We shouldwork together to develop a “blue-sea economy” through maritime connectivity,port cooperation, and environmental protection and the sustainable use ofmaritime resources. We should also make efforts to foster the maritime order andsettle disputes peacefully on the basis of international law, including the1982 United Nations' Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Furthermore, we should strengthen connectivity in realizingthe SDGs in both countries, closely linking the United Nations' 2030 ActionAgenda to regional cooperation frameworks including the Mekong-Ganga mechanism.Vietnam hopes to effectively and substantively work with India in such areas asgreen agriculture, green technology, clean and renewable energy, capacityenhancement in information technology, disaster prevention and relief, andclimate change response.
We should continue to work closely together in building anew and open regional architecture that is inclusive and shares the values andinterests of peace. We should effectively implement all elements of the Vietnam–IndiaComprehensive Strategic Partnership and the ASEAN–India Strategic Partnershipwith a new vision. Good strategic partnership at all levels will yield benefitsnot only for Vietnam and India but also for peace and development in theregion.
In addition, our two countries need to work together moreclosely in multilateral forums, in particular in UN and ASEAN mechanisms. Weshould more actively take part in building and shaping of cooperationframeworks and norms, making substantive contributions to the common efforts ofthe international community to ensure peace, cooperation and development, thusbringing about a brighter future for the Indo-Asia-Pacific.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Prime Minister Nehru, thegreat friend of President Ho Chi Minh and the Vietnamese people, once said: “Time is not measured by the passing of yearsbut by what one does, what one feels, and what one achieves”.
From the history spanning thousands of years of our twopeoples' enduring cultural ties, from the heartfelt friendship between us, fromour shared vision for the future -- and given the strong effort anddetermination of our two countries' leaders and peoples -- there is everyreason to believe in an ever-flourishing Comprehensive Strategic Partnershipbetween Vietnam and India. This indeed will become a pillar of regionalintegration and development, playing a key role in the 21st-century miracles ofthe Indo-Asia-Pacific and making significant contributions to peace, stability,cooperation and development in the region and the world.
May the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library continue toflourish, thus disseminating the values of humanism, fraternity, and peace thatso characterize India to the region and to the world.
I wish you good health, happiness and success.
Thank you for your attention.-VNA
