Viet Nam – India to promote cooperation in Standardization and Conformity Assessment

Viet Nam and India leveraged their current Strategic Partnership to “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi paid the official visit to Viet Nam from September 2 to 3 according to the invitation of Viet Nam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. On this occasion, Viet Nam and India officially leveraged their current Strategic Partnership to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in order to reflect the thorough and deep development of the two countries’ relations. A series of important cooperation documents on between two countries have been signed.


Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc highly appreciated Indian Prime Minister’s opinions that India has considered its relationship with Viet Nam as an important pillar in its Act East policy. He affirmed that Viet Nam has consistent support to India’s Act East policy and the fact that India has played more significant role position in the region and the world.

“The two parties agree to leverage their relationship from strategic partnership to comprehensive strategic partnership in order to reflect the thorough and deep development of the two countries’ relations, appropriate with basic and long-term mutual benefits, satisfy the people’s wishes of the two countries as well as express their hopes to contribute to the peace, stability, cooperation in the region and the world”, he said.

The two parties agreed to cooperate in trade, economics and investment with greater potentials in order to become a strategic pillar in bilateral relationship between Vietnam and India. To achieve the goal of reaching bilateral trade turnover over USD 15 billion in 2020, the two Prime Ministers proposed relevant Ministries of the two countries to have dynamic and specific measures, create favorable a business and investment environment, remove all barriers and create favorable conditions for enterprises of the two countries.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc highly appreciated the production innovation proposed in India by Prime Minister Modi and encouraged Vietnam businesses to find ways to participate in this initiative. He also expressed his appreciation of Indian corporations to expand their investment scales in oil and gas sector, energy, infrastructure, information technology and high-tech agriculture.

The Prime Minister said, he particularly appreciated that India has affirmed to cooperate closely with Vietnam in exploration and exploitation of oil and gas. Vietnam has committed to continue giving priorities for cooperation in other important areas such as energy, civil nuclear energy, information technology, science and technology, education, health, culture, tourism…

The two Prime Ministers agreed to promote close cooperation in regional, international fora, especially in the ASEAN and related fora. The two parties exchanged their views on the East China Sea issue and re-affirmed their desires and determination to work together in order maintain marine peace, stability, security and safety in East Sea in particular and Asian-Pacific region in general. Both the parties said that involving parties should peacefully resolve disputes over the East China Sea on the basis of international laws, including the UN Convention on the Law of Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 with respect to diplomatic and legal processes.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc expressed his confidence that the thorough and practical cooperation with the spirit of comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and India would not only brings mutual benefits for each country but also helps strengthen the ASEAN – India relationship, contributing to the peace, stability, cooperation and development in the Asia - Pacific region and the world.

Prime Minister Modi said the two parties would deepen defense cooperation for mutual benefits of the two countries and for the stability, security and prosperity in the region in which the Agreement on building Offshore High-speed Patrol Boats is one specific step.

“As two important countries in the region, we recognize the need to strengthen our relations and coordination in issues of the regional and international interest. We agree to take advantages of economic development opportunities in the region and cooperate in solving emerging challenges in the region", Mr. Modi said.

"During the process that Vietnam strengthens its economy, modernizes its agriculture, promotes its growth in science and technology, enhances its capacity and develops economy faster and becomes a modern country, India with a population of 1.25 billion will always be ready to be a partner and friend of Vietnam", Prime Minister Modi said to the press.

Indian Prime Minister also presented his congratulations to Viet Nam’s people on the occasion of the National Day of September 2. He recalled the relationship between the two nations which began over 2,000 years ago when Buddhism was spread from India to Vietnam, which have been shown relics, Hindu - Cham temples as clear evidence for the relationship.

"For people of my generation, Vietnam holds a very special position in our hearts. The courage of Vietnamese people in its fights for independence and against colonialism has inspired us. Vietnam's success in the country’s reunification as well as commitment of its people in the national construction have expressed the fearlessness of Vietnamese people", Prime Minister Modi said.

Prime Minister Modi also said that people in India have always admired Viet Nam’s indomitable spirit and been delighted at Viet Nam’s achievements.

"The fact that the two countries leverage their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership expresses their interests and orientations for bilateral cooperation in the future, creating dynamics, motivations and new platform for the bilateral relations", he said.

Promoting cooperation in standardization and conformity assessment

On the occasion of Prime Minister Modi’s official visit, agencies and partners of the two countries have signed 12 cooperative agreements in all areas, especially the Agreement in Standardization and Conformity Assessment is one important remark for Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology of Viet Nam and India’s Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.


Representatives of the both parties, Mr. Tran Van Vinh - Director General of Vietnam Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality and on behalf of India’s Bureau of Standards (BIS) under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public distribution of the Republic of India, Mr. Parvathaneni Harish - Indian Ambassador in Vietnam signed the Agreement.

Regarding this cooperation, the both parties expressed their desires, with spirits of cooperation and mutual benefits, to enhance and strengthen technical cooperation in fields of standardization and conformity assessment for purposes of exchanging information and necessary expertise between the two parties.

Specifically, the parties, within their authorities and tasks and in compliance with relevant laws and regulations of each country, will encourage and promote cooperation in areas of:

1. Standardization:

(1) The parties shall exchange information and documentation in the standardization field. The information and documents include policies and strategies on standardization, organizational structure for standardization, regulation and procedures for formulation of standards, standard formulation programs, comments on international standards for different stages of standard formulation, etc ...

(2) The parties will exchange scientific and technical information on standardization issues/fields agreed by the two parties.

2. Conformity assessment:

(1) The parties will study the organizational structure of each Party, regulations and infrastructure for conformity assessment for products to be managed at appropriate level in order to have bilateral cooperation agreements on recognition of results of conformity assessment.

(2) The parties within appropriate authorities, will exchange experiences, information and processes for the conformity assessment including product certification and management and testing system at an appropriate level.

(3) Technical information: The parties will exchange information relating to the collection, storage, archive, use and dissemination of scientific and technological information for standardization and conformity assessment.

(4) Training: Each Party will provide training to the personnel of the other Party in fields of standardization and conformity assessment on the basis of mutual benefits and in other areas interested by the two parties if appropriate.


Also on this occasion, 11 other cooperative documents have also been signed, including:

1. Framework Agreement between the Governments of Viet Nam and India on cooperation in exploration and uses of space for peaceful purposes.

2. Protocol for amending the Agreement on Avoiding Double Taxation

3. Cooperation program on UN Peacekeeping Matters between Viet Nam’s Ministry of Defense and India’s Ministry of External Affairs

4. Protocol on celebrating 2017 as the “Year of Friendship” between Viet Nam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and India’s Ministry of External Affairs

5. Memorandum of Understanding on Health Cooperation between Viet Nam’s Ministry of Health and India’s Ministry of Family Welfare

6. Memorandum of Understanding on Information Technology Cooperation

7. Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences and Indian Council of International Affairs

8. Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in Cyber Security

9. Agreement on building information infrastructure for high quality Information Technology training between Viet Nam’s Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology and India’s Center for High-Tech Computers

10. Agreement on sharing demilitarized marine information between Viet Nam People’s Navy and India’s Navy

11. Contracts for designing and building ships in India and handing over in Viet Nam; providing materials, equipment and technology transfer for building ships in Viet Nam between Viet Nam Border Guards and India’s Larsen & Toubro Company