Prime Minister of Vietnam on 3-day State Visit to India from tomorrow

The Prime Minister of Vietnam, Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung will pay a State Visit to India from July 4-6, 2007. During his visit, he will hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and call on the President on July 6, 2007. The Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri Anand Sharma, the Speaker of Lok Sabha, Shri Somnath Chatterjee and the Leader of the Opposition, Lok Sabha, Shri L.K. Advani will call on the visiting dignitary. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will host a banquet in honour of the visiting dignitary on July 6, 2007. The Vietnamese Prime Minister will visit Kolkata, Jamshedpur and Mumbai apart from New Delhi during his State Visit to India.

On his visit to India, Prime Minister Mr. Nguyen Tan Dung will be accompanied by the Minister of Trade, Mr. Truong Dinh Tuyen, Minister of Science and Technology, Mr. Hoang Van Phong and Minister of Fishery, Mr. Ta Quang Ngoc and senior officials from the Vietnamese Government. During the State Visit of the Vietnamese Prime Minister, an MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Fisheries and Aquaculture, the Cultural Exchange Programme between India and Vietnam for the period 2007-09 and a Work Plan in the Field of Agriculture for the period 2007-09 will be signed in the presence of the two Prime Ministers after the conclusion of the bilateral talks on July 6, 2007.

India’s relations with Vietnam are warm and cordial. The two countries have had a long history of close political, economic and societal ties and are committed to working together for a broad based expansion of relations in the political, security, economic, cultural and science and technological spheres. Both countries also seek an expansion of societal linkages and people to people contacts. India assists Vietnam through grants and soft loans for development projects and through technical assistance and training provided under India’s ITEC programme. Vietnamese nationals are also recipients of ICCR scholarships for undergraduate and post graduate education in India.

The visit of the Vietnamese Prime Minister takes place during the 35th Anniversary year of the Establishment of Full Diplomatic Relations between India and Vietnam. The two countries are working together in the organization of a series of cultural events to celebrate this important anniversary in a befitting manner. Bilateral trade between India and Vietnam reached a volume of US $ 1 billion in 2006. Both countries have set a target of doubling trade and reaching a volume of US $ 2 billion by 2010. Indian companies including Essar and Tata Steel have entered into Agreements to make major investments in the steel sector in Vietnam.

Source : Press Information Bureau

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