Chairman of the Vietnam-India Friendship Association Truong Minh Tuan, who is also Minister of Information and Communications

Both sides also discussed the issuance of a shared stamp collection to mark the 45th anniversary of the Vietnam-India diplomatic ties and 10 years of the bilateral strategic partnership.

As the Chair of the Vietnam-India Friendship Organisation in the 2016-2021 tenure, Minister Tuan noted that Vietnam and India have enjoyed growing cooperation, especially in information and communications.

Vietnam attaches much importance to the development of IT, telecommunications, considering it as a spearhead industry which is prioritised for development to support other industries, he said.

The Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of India have also signed a memorandum of understanding on IT cooperation, he said, adding that thus is a foundation for both sides to strengthen affiliation in the future.

Tuan reiterated that the Indian Government had announced a 1-billion-USD assistance for ASEAN countries, especially Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, with priorities on projects on digital connectivity and infrastructure connection.

He suggested that the two sides discuss details of the programme in the coming time, while asking India to assist Vietnam in training high quality IT engineers for e-government building and smart cities in the Southeast Asian nation.

The Indian ambassador lauded the fruitful collaboration between the two countries over the past years, expressing his hope for more extensive and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries in the future.

Currently, India has formed a working groups for the implementation of the signed memorandum of understanding in IT partnership with Vietnam, said the diplomat, adding that India will coordinate with Vietnam on the publishing of a stamp collection on Vietnam-India diplomatic ties.

Both sides also shared their belief that the talks will open new cooperation opportunities between the two countries in IT and communication in the future.

VNA