Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Vietnam ahead of G20 summit here was aimed at jointly piling pressure on China and to raise their “bargaining chips” with the country, Chinese state media said on Sunday.
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By visiting Vietnam before heading to China for the Group of 20 summit this weekend, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was telling Hanoi what high regard it is held in.
On Saturday, Modi and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed 12 agreements following a morning of discussions. This relationship has, however, now attained geopolitical dimensions with China, which has also been beaten back by Vietnam, making threatening noises against Indian support for oil exploration in Vietnamese waters as Beijing claims nearly the whole of the South China Sea as its own.
According to Modi, the sides have increased the level of bilateral cooperation now described as comprehensive and strategic partnership.
“Both sides expressed satisfaction at the conclusion of the Programme of Cooperation in UN Peacekeeping Matters”, the statement said. “Our common efforts will also contribute to stability, security and prosperity in this region”, Modi told the press, addressing them after the talks concluded.
He also said, “we need to act to eliminate safe havens for economic offenders, track down and unconditionally extradite money launderers”.
“We have agreed to scale up and strengthen our bilateral engagement”.
Another agreement was signed on sharing of white shipping information while another called for setting up a sustainable IT infrastructure for advanced IT training.
Modi also sought the British Prime Minister’s suggestions on further strengthening the partnership particularly trade and investment ties.
For boosting bilateral commercial ties, he said that new trade and business opportunities would be tapped to achieve the trade target of $15 billion by 2020.
India will also offer a $5 million support package to help Vietnam build a software park in the south-central city of Nha Trang, the visiting leader added.
Modi also visited the tomb of Vietnam’s independence leader Ho Chi Minh, posting a photo on Twitter of the monument where the embalmed national hero is on display, saying: “Paid tributes to one of Asia’s tallest leaders, the great Ho Chi Minh”.
Mr. Modi said the India-China partnership was important not just for the region, but the entire world. “It would be rare to find such a relationship which has lasted 2,000 years”, he told Trong and recalled the Vietnamese leader’s visit to India in 2013.
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Earlier on Saturday, he was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi.
