Prime Minister Modi arrived in Vietnamese capital Hanoi last night which was the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister in 15 years.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi has once again come out in support of India’s athletes – he advised the media to stop chasing politicians and instead showcase the huge sacrifices our athletes make to reach the highest level. The agreements include exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, double taxation avoidance, co-operation on United Nations peacekeeping operation, health, cyber security, advanced IT training, sharing of shipping information between the Navies of the two countries and mutual recognition of standards.
“PM @narendramodi and PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc meet for a tete-a-tete before formal talks”.
“We have agreed to scale up and strengthen our bilateral engagement. We came here with a message of peace which has endured”, Modi said.
“As two important countries in this region, we also feel it necessary to further our ties on regional and global issues of common concern”.
Phuc, for his part, said that the country highlighted the fact that India will help Vietnam in oil and gas exploration and exploitation.
Both India and Vietnam share concerns over growing Chinese presence in the South China Sea. “We in India have admired your determination, rejoiced in your success and have been with you all along in your national journey”, he said. “Our common efforts will also contribute to stability, security and prosperity in this region”.
Beijing has previously criticized India’s cooperation with Vietnam in the defense sector, and India has its own frosty history with China following a brief but bloody border war in 1962.
Indian Navy and Vietnam Navy will cooperate in sharing of white shipping information. “It has strategic partnerships only with two other countries, Russian Federation and China”, he said. India has also granted $5 million to set up a software park in the country.
Earlier in the day, Modi held delegation-level talks with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc following which the two sides signed 12 agreements while giving a strong boost to bilateral defence ties and upgrading the relationship from a Strategic Partnership to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Both leaders said ties would be upgraded to the level of “comprehensive strategic relationship” and bilateral trade would be nearly doubled to $15 billion by 2020.
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Modi has sought facilitation of ongoing Indian projects and investments in Vietnam.
