Trong visit to elaborate on India’s ‘look east’ perspective

The Indian business community has shown great interest in Vietnam

Trong will visit India on November 19-22 to expand and further sharpen the Vietnamese- Indian strategic partnership, with focus on better co-operation in politics, trade and investment, defence, education, and science and technology, according to the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Foreign Relations.

Ten agreements have been lined up for signing on finance, trade, security, transport and culture. A joint statement on the visit’s outcomes and the two nations’ upcoming co-operation will also be released.

Trong will have talks with India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and meet with President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President and Speaker of the Parliament’s Upper House Hamid Ansari and the Parliament’s Lower House Speaker.

He will also visit the financial district in Mumbai and meet with India’s business community. He will also be received by leaders of India’s political parties.

The commission said India was keen to boost the implementation of its Look East policy, in which Vietnam as part of ASEAN is regarded as “a very important partner.”

India, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of nearly $2 trillion, has already recognised Vietnam’s full market-based economy status.

Bilateral trade turnover reached over $3.94 billion last year, and $2.245 billion in the first five months of this year. Vietnam and India have committed to raising trade turnover to $7 billion by 2015.

India currently has 73 investment projects in Vietnam, with total registered capital of $253.1 million. Recently India’s Tata Group won a contract to build a $1.8 billion BOT thermal power project named Long Phu 2 in the southern province of Soc Trang. This will be India’s biggest project in Vietnam. Vietnam has three investment projects in India worth $23.6 million.

The two nations forged their strategic partnership in July 2007, with India keen to develop relations further to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

India has also pledged to help modernise Vietnam’s military, and provide military training.

India has been helping Vietnam in educational and training activities, granting Vietnam 150 scholarships annually in many sectors.

According to the commission, regarding the East Sea issue India supports Vietnam’s stance on ensuring peace, stability, freedom of navigation, maritime security and safety in the sea. “All disputes are resolved through peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); fully implement the Declaration of the Conduct of Parties on the East Sea (DOC).”

India has affirmed that it wanted to enlarge cooperation with Vietnam in oil and gas field.