PM Modi, Vietnamese counterpart holds bilateral meeting in Japan

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held wide-ranging talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Minh Chinh and discussed expanding cooperation in areas like trade and investment, defence and energy.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the summit of the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies in Hiroshima.

"Propelling - ties to new levels. Wide-ranging talks between PM @narendramodi and PM Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) tweeted.

"Leaders discussed expanding cooperation in the fields of trade and investment, defence, building resilient supply chains, energy, science & technology, human resource development, culture & people to people ties," it said.

Talks also covered regional developments as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, it added.

ASEAN nations include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The US, India and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's rising military manoeuvring in the resource-rich region.

China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea. China also has territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea.

Modi arrived in Hiroshima on Friday to attend three sessions at the G7 summit following an invitation by Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.