Venkaiah Naidu’s visit galvanises India-Vietnam ties

India and Vietnam provided a fresh momentum to their strategic and economic cooperation during the four-day visit of  Vice-President M. Venkaiah Nadu to the emerging powerhouse in Southeast Asia.  Buddhist bonding was on display during the visit as Naidu attended the 16th UN Day of Vesak held at the Tam Chuc Pagoda in Hanam Province in Vietnam and delivered the keynote address during the inaugural session. Mr Venkaiah Naidu was invited by her Vietnamese counterpart Ms. Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh. India and Vietnam have a strong bilateral relationship based on mutual trust, understanding and convergence of views on regional and international issues, said a statement by India’s Ministry of External Affairs. Vice-President’s talks with his Vietnamese interlocutors were extensive and productive and covered whole range of bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Both sides agreed to further strengthen cooperation in defence and security, peaceful uses of atomic energy and outer space, oil and gas, renewable energy, agriculture and innovation-based sectors. “Both sides reiterated the importance of building a peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region on the basis of respect for national sovereignty and international law, and expressed full commitment to an open, transparent, inclusive and rules-based regional architecture based on freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded economic activities and peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with international law,” said the MEA.  Vietnam is an important trade partner of India. Bilateral trade stood at nearly US Dollars 14 billion last year having nearly doubled from US Dollars 7.8 billion three years ago. Vice President Naidu and Prime Minister Phuc expressed commitment to enhancing trade and investments and agreed to facilitate direct air connectivity to promote tourism, trade and people-to-people relations. Vietnam’s leaders conveyed their appreciation for India’s long-standing development partnership engagement, especially scholarships and training programmes provided under ITEC and by ICCR.