New Delhi, Feb 27 (SHOBHNA JAIN/VNI) Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang will visit India on a three-day official visit from this Friday.Visit is important as it marks 45 years of diplomatic relations with two countries . Strengthening cooperation in the key areas of defence and trade will be highlight of visit and It will further strengthen strategic partnership with Vietnam.
This will be Mr Tran’s first visit to India as President.Quang’s visit will also be significant because he is second in the hierarchy of the communist party.It may be mentioned that Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc was in Delhi in January as chief guest during the Republic Day parade along with nine other leaders from ASEAN countries.This visit is specially important in view of India's look Act Policy for further strenthening relations with south east asian countries. PM Modi had visited Vietnam in 2016, when the two countries agreed to elevate their 'strategic partnership' to a 'comprehensive strategic partnership'.
The two sides are likely to sign memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in the areas of civil nuclear energy, agriculture and trade and investment during the visit , Vietnamese Ambassador to India, Ton Sinh Thanh while announcing the visit told media persons here today.External ministry of India also officially announced visit today.'President Quang’s visit will further deepen Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and Vietnam'.said the ministry in a statement. The issue of the South China Sea, where China has been showing increasing assertiveness, will also be discussed, the envoy said in response to a question.He said situation is complicated but some positive development is also there.
On arriving in India, Tran will first visit the Buddhist religious site Bodh Gaya in Bihar on 2 March. .Vietanamese ambassador further added that in Vietnam their are followers of budhism in large numberThe next day, he will hold delegation level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.The talks will also focus on measures to further deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership,Mr Ton said.Three Agreements related to the building of a coal terminal in Vietnam and the joint development of a port will also be signed between Indian and Vietnamese companies, officials said.
“The relations between India and Vietnam are quite strong politically. We have a lot of exchanges between highest-ranking leaders. We have very strong and very effective defence cooperation but we still have many other areas to be exploited for cooperation,” he added. Defence has been a key element of the ties between India and Vietnam and the two countries have “very strong and very effective defence cooperation”, he said.
“Leaders of the two countries will discuss how to deepen cooperation in this area, especially on how to implement and realise the credit line on defence that India has announced for Vietnam,” Ton said.
On 4 March, the Vietnamese president will deliver an address, which will be an “important policy statement”, the envoy said.He will be accompanied by an 18-member delegation, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh as well as the ministers for trade and industry and planning and investment, said the Ambassador. On 4 March, the Vietnamese president will deliver an address, which will be an “important policy statement”, the envoy said.
PM Modi had announced a grant of $5 million for the construction of an Army Software Park at the Telecommunications University in Nha Trang during his visit to the country. A Line of Credit of $100 million is already being used for eight off-shore patrol vessels to Vietnam.
The armies of the two countries, for the first time, conducted joint military exercise last month. Vietnam buys defence equipment for the navy and air force.
Ton, however, parried questions on the Brahmos deal. Vietnam has shown an interest in buying the Brahmos supersonic missile from India.
A business delegation of 65 businessmen from 34 Vietnamese companies will also visit India.
Last year, trade volume reached $7.6 billion, an increase of 40 percent from the previous year.Apart from Asean, India and Vietnam closely cooperate in other regional forums such as the East Asia Summit, Mekong Ganga Cooperation, Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) besides the UN and WTO.
Vietnam exports a lot of manufacturing products to India, including mobile phones, machineries and computers. India exports machineries, textile materials, seafood and medicines to Vietnam. Ton said the trade volume between the two sides has not reached the expected level and investments from India in Vietnam are still very low. In 2017, India and Vietnam celebrated 45 years of its diplomatic ties.VNI
