India and Indonesia have developed their time-honoured relationship with Vietnam. The Indian people have supported Vietnam in its past wars of resistance for national independence and unification and in its current process of Doi Moi (Renewal) and economic development.

Top Vietnamese and Indian leaders have maintained regular exchanges of reciprocal visits, established a strategic partnership between the two countries, and provided mechanisms for bilateral cooperation. They have established the Joint Commission for Cooperation in Economics, Culture, Science and Technology, and conducted political consultations between their Ministries of Foreign Affairs. They have signed many agreements on bilateral cooperation and supported each other in regional and international forums. 

As part of its foreign policy of diversification and multilateralisation of international relations, Vietnam always attaches great importance to developing relations with India. In turn, via its Look East policy, India wants to expand relations with countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including Vietnam.

Since the two countries established diplomatic ties nearly 40 years ago, their cooperative relations have grown and flourished in many areas: politics, culture, education-training, and science-technology, bringing practical results to both sides.

India has provided more than 100 scholarships for Vietnamese students annually to study agriculture, informatics, English and remote sensing under bilateral and multilateral cooperation projects.  It has also provided assistance and cooperated with Vietnam in science-technology, human resources development for the IT industry, and animal and plant cross-breeding. Regular cultural and people-to-people exchanges have helped increase mutual understanding, solidarity and friendship.

Indonesia is Vietnam’s long-standing friend in Southeast Asia. The two countries established diplomatic ties in 1955 and Indonesia was among those countries that first recognised the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam in July 1975.

Despite many upheavals, bilateral bonds have expanded, with the signing of more than 20 cooperation agreements in economics, trade and consular affairs. The two countries have mutually assisted each other to overcome difficulties caused by natural disasters, and to enhance their prestige at both regional and international forums. In addition to economics, trade and investment, Vietnam and Indonesia have increased cooperation in aquaculture and seafood processing, oil exploitation, coal mining, agriculture and tourism.

As major economies in the region and the world, both India and Indonesia are Vietnam’s important partners with great potential for growth.

Ranking 2^nd in population (1.2 billion) and 7^th in the area (3.3 million km²), India not only has an abundant labour force but is also rich in natural resources. It has developed its knowledge and services-based economy to make information technology a spearhead industry. In the 2008-09 fiscal year, its GDP totalled more than US$1 trillion, of which services made up 57 percent, industry 25.9 percent, and agriculture 17.1 percent. Despite the global financial and economic turmoil, its GDP last year hit 7.75 percent and is expected to increase to 8-9 percent in 2010 and 2011.

Meanwhile, housing 17,500 islands of different sizes, Indonesia is the fourth most populous nation in the world, with more than 230 million people from 300 different ethnic groups. Under the New Order administration (1966-1998), Indonesia developed domestic production sectors to replace imports, focusing on exploiting oil and later exporting non-oil products. It made great strides in economic development thanks to its abundant natural resources (oil, zinc, and industrial crops) and assistance from western countries.

The 1998 regional financial crisis took a heavy toll on Indonesia, but this Southeast Asian economy started to rebound in 2000. Last year, its GDP increased by 4.3 percent and the figure is expected to rise to 5.5-6 percent in 2010-11.