“My temple is the holiness of the heart’s affection and my kingdom, though I never possess it, is the wide open world,” thus says an exponent of occidental philosophy and a seminal thinker of India, Acharya Adi Shankar. So also is the quintessential message of Odisha’s legendary Santhakabi Bhima Bhoi, whose teachings are inscribed on the walls of the UN Headquarters buildings, “Let myself be in deluge, but let the world be redeemed and resurrected”. Admittedly inspired by the seminal minds and their teachings, Dr Abhinna Chandra Hota has chosen a career for himself in the international relationship by relinquishing lucrative offers after his studies. During his student days at the JNU, he was deeply influence by the fervour and enthusiasm pervading in the campus regarding the release of Vietnam’s father figure of freedom struggle Ho Chin Min. He remembers with nostalgia how the JNU campus was reverberating with the slogan “Ho Ho Chin Min, we shall fight, we shall win”. Hota carried the contagion from the campus; and with the spark with in him, he was determined to know, study, interact and explore meaningful relationship with the people of Vietnam. Besides, Hota studied about the historical ties between Vietnam and Odisha that exists for over the last 2,000 years. After having his schooling from the Sainik School, Bhubaneswar, he joined Ravenshaw College AND came out with flying colours in Political Science Honours securing a distinction. Subsequently, he joined the Jawaharlal Nehru University and completed his MPhil and PhD in International Studies. No doubt, his academic achievements and research provided him an added impetus to take to such exploration. Currently, Hota is the secretary general of Indo-Vietnam Cooperation Centre (IVCC). In an interview to The Pioneer, Dr Hota spoke to Sugyan Choudhury on the many aspects of business and bilateral relationship between India and Vietnam.
Could you tell us the significance of the Indo-Vietnam Cooperation Centre?
The Indo-Vietnam Cooperation Centre was founded by a group of professionals in February 2016, and its office was inaugurated by the then Ambassador of Vietnam Ton Sinh Than. Its aim is to further the trade business relations, academic and cultural exchange and strategic studies between both the countries. In the current global scenario, the South China Sea is very relevant to India; so, the IVCC is acting as a bridge between both the countries.
Please enlighten us about the historical relationship between the two nations?
Two thousand years back, traders from Odisha went through the Basudevpur seaport to Vietnam and founded the Champa kingdom, which is the ancient name of Vietnam. It was a Hindu kingdom. If you compare the temple structures of Ho Chi Minh city and Hanoi with Bhubaneswar, you will find striking similarities.
How far IVCC has moved in achieving remarkable achievements in bilateral ties?
In July 2018, the IVCC arranged a collaborative road shows at a Bhubaneswar hotel to showcase the Vietnam tourism in eastern India. Five international airlines along with several tour operators participated in it making it a huge success. On October 8, 9 and 10 (last week) a 13-member high-level Ministerial delegation from Huang Hua province of Vietnam visited Bhubaneswar which included the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and Ministers of Agriculture, Finance, Industry and Investments. Several issues pertaining bilateral trade were discussed and two memorandums of understandings were signed.
How far we have advanced our relationship in key strategic areas between the two countries?
We have made some big strides in the South China Sea, in which the ONGC Videsh is investing heavily for oil exploration. During his last visit there, Prime Minister Modi has signed a number of treaties of mutual interest in Defence cooperations.
What are your plans for entrepreneurs of Odisha to explore possibilities of various avenues in Vietnam?
Recently, we signed two memoranda of understanding, one in the field of monitoring and evaluating environment-related projects and the other in producing ethanol from sugarcane molasses which is available plenty in Vietnam.
This is a step forward on our efforts to produce clean and green energy. Odisha has a lot of commonalities with Vietnam. We are looking forward for collaborations in agro, food processing, marine products processing units, medium-scale enterprises and steel plants. The current volume of trade between India and Vietnam is 1 billion dollar; it will go up to 5 billion dollar by 2020.
