Vietnamese Ambassador to the UN, WTO and other international organisations Le Thi Tuyet Mai attended the seventh review of the trade policies and practices of India, taking place at the WTO headquarters in Geneva from January 6-8.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the UN, WTO and other international
organisations Le Thi Tuyet Mai. (Photo: VNA)

During the review meeting, Ambassador Mai emphasized that the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and India has constantly developed in recent times.

India has been one of Vietnam’s most important trade and investment partners over the past decade and one of the country’s top 10 trading partners in recent years, she noted.

She congratulated India on the achievements it has made in economic development, including maintaining a relatively high growth rate of 7.36% annually in the 2015-2020 period and 4.2% for 2019 - 2020, despite rising global uncertainties, trade tensions and COVID-19.

Ambassador Mai shared India’s common views that the adherence to WTO trade rules is the only solution to the ongoing crisis and will continue to play a role in actively maintaining and strengthening a fair and equal multilateral trading system.

The ambassador expressed Vietnam’s concern about some of India’s trade measures that have created excessively necessary trade barriers and restrictions. She said as a member of ASEAN - a trading partner of India, Vietnam is working closely with India to find suitable solutions to these problems.

Vietnam is ready to cooperate with India to facilitate the development of supply chains in the region as well as to contribute to the economic recovery in the post COVID period, Mai said.

During the meeting, the ASEAN representative affirmed the comprehensive dialogue partnership between ASEAN and India has developed rapidly since its establishment in December 1995. India is currently ASEAN’s sixth largest trading partner and also ASEAN’s eighth largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI).

ASEAN also welcomed the outcome of the 17th consultation meeting of the ASEAN and India Economic Ministers on August 29, 2020, in which both sides viewed the multilateral trading system as the driving force for the post-pandemic economic recovery and the implementation of the ASEAN-India Free Trade Area for mutual benefits.

The ASEAN representative also emphasized that ASEAN recognized India’s important contributions to the strengthening and consolidation of the WTO, as well as the WTO reform. The representative reaffirmed the bloc’s strong commitment and cooperation with India in maintaining an open, inclusive, transparent, non-discriminatory, and WTO rules-based multilateral trading system.

Meanwhile, WTO members spoke highly of India’s strong economic growth in the 2015-2020 period, especially in the service sector, which helped the country become one of the largest economies globally.

They expressed their belief that India’s constant economic reforms have contributed to these positive developments and led to improvements in socio-economic indicators, such as per capita income and longevity. They hoped that these positive economic results will help India to integrate more deeply into the global economy and make a greater contribution to the global trade.