Hanoi: India is trying to establish new supply chains to overcome the consequences of COVID-19 and Vietnam is a potential partner in this endeavour, former Secretary General of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry Sanjaya Baru has said.

"India and Vietnam can work together on establishing new supply chains so that Indian exports to Southeast Asia and East Asia can be enhanced through joint ventures," Baru was quoted as saying by Vietnam Plus.

Regional experts say that both countries hold great potential for cooperation in establishing supply chains. This comes at the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, which adversely impacted both economies and caused disruptions in regional and global supply chains, the Vietnamese publication reported citing Indian analysts.

Only last December, the two countries signed a dozen cooperation agreements in various fields, including human resources training in information technology, oil and gas processing, at the Vietnam-India Business Forum in New Delhi.

Another Indian analyst Jagannath Panda said Vietnam is an important country in Southeast Asian and Indian supply chain networks.

Panda, the head of the Stockholm Center for South Asian and Indo-Pacific Affairs, praised Vietnam-India ties, which have progressed well and developed into a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2017.

Amitendu Palit, a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of South Asian Studies under the National University of Singapore, said a turning point in ties was the introduction of India's Look East policy in 1991.

This policy shift aimed at cultivating extensive economic and strategic relations with Southeast Asian countries, Palit said.

After the Look East policy in 1991, came the action-oriented Act East policy in 2014.

"These policies have made India become much more outward-looking," Palit said, adding that its ties, particularly economic partnerships with Southeast Asia, have expanded rapidly.

The two countries registered growth last year, surpassing 13 billion USD for the first time, up 36.5 per cent compared to 2020, according to Vietnam Plus.

According to Palit, India and Vietnam look closely at the possibilities for cooperation through a large number of supply chains.

"What I have in mind is a large number of products and supply chains making up our production networks, where countries and businesses come together to cooperate," he said.