Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Vietnamese counterpart Le Thanh Long discuss cooperation in law and justice

New Delhi [India], July 3 : Union Minister of State for Law and Justice (Independent Charge) Arjun Ram Meghwal and Vietnam's Minister of Justice Le Thanh Long held a meeting in Delhi on Sunday and discussed cooperation in the areas of law and justice.

Ministry of Justice in the press release said, "The two sides utilized this opportunity to discuss measures for cooperation in the areas of Law & Justice, which would take the bilateral relations to greater heights in line with the status of being Comprehensive Strategic Partners."

"The meeting proved beneficial to augment the efforts towards the possibilities of entering into an MoU to boost cooperation between both the countries in the field of Law and Justice," it added.

For the meeting, the two leaders were accompanied by a delegation comprising of senior officers of the respective ministries.

The two sides agreed to hold official-level delegations to take forward the discussions on broad areas of cooperation in law and justice sectors, including entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), according to a Ministry of Justice press release.

During the meeting, Arjun Ram Meghwal recalled the close ties of friendship between India and Vietnam that have developed over the past more than 50 years. Meghwal stressed that Vietnam is important for India's Act East Policy, according to the press release.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, Arjun Ram Meghwal on Sunday stated, "On the 51st anniversary of India-Vietnam diplomatic relations and completion of 7 years of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, held bilateral talks with Law Minister of Vietnam Le Thanh Long and his delegation today."

Earlier in June, Vietnam's Defence Minister General Phan Van Giang called on President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan, said a press release by President's Secretariat.

Welcoming General Giang and his delegation to India, the President said that India and Vietnam share a rich history of civilizational and cultural linkages spanning over 2000 years.

She added that Vietnam is an important pillar of India's Act East Policy and a key partner of the Indo-Pacific Vision.

President Murmu noted that the India-Vietnam 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' has widened the range of bilateral collaboration including in defence and security cooperation, trade and investment relations, energy security, development cooperation, cultural and people-to-people relations, according to the press release.

She said that bilateral defence cooperation is one of the strongest elements of this partnership. She was happy to note that the India-Vietnam defence engagement spans a wide spectrum, including capacity building, industry cooperation, peacekeeping, and joint exercises.

Notably, India and Vietnam share traditionally close and cordial bilateral relations. India established full diplomatic relations with Vietnam on 7 January 1972.

Relations between the two countries were elevated to the level of 'Strategic Partnership' during the-then Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung's visit to India in July 2007.