Indian President concludes State visit to Vietnam

Hanoi (VNA) - Indian President Ram Nath Kovind on November 20 wrapped up his three-day state visit to Vietnam at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee (CPVCC) and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

During his trip, the Indian leader held talks with Party General Secretary and President Trong, met with Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, and Secretary of the Party Committee of Da Nang city Truong Quang Nghia.

He delivered a speech at the Vietnamese NA, attended the Vietnam-India Business Forum, and met with Indian expats living, working and studying in Vietnam.

He toured Da Nang city and the world cultural heritage My Son Sanctuary in the neighbouring province of Quang Nam. He also laid wreaths at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Martyrs Monument in Hanoi.

On the occasion, the two sides issued a joint statement on the State visit of President Ram Nath Kovind to Vietnam

During meetings, Vietnamese and Indian leaders highlighted the strong development of bilateral relations between Vietnam and India across fields since they established a Strategic Partnership in 2007 and upgraded ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016.

The two sides agreed to maintain regular visits at all levels across the channels of Party, State, Government, parliament, and locality, as well as people-to-people exchanges; maintain regularly and on-schedule bilateral cooperation mechanisms, and effectively implement results of high-level visits and signed agreements.

They agreed to effectively implement the joint vision statement on Vietnam-India  defence relations in the 2015-2020 period; promote links in training human resources; and expand cooperation between their armies, air forces, navies and coast guards as well as cooperation in the field of cyber security and information sharing.

The two sides proposed the early building of concrete plans for the effective implementation of signed agreements in order to further promote bilateral trade, including trade and investment promotion measures.

The Indian side pledged to continue providing scholarships for Vietnam through the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme and the Cultural Exchange Programme’s General Cultural Scholarship Scheme (CEP/GCSS), as well as those for students and postgraduates from ASEAN countries to pursue doctoral courses in India.

The Vietnamese and Indian leaders stressed the need to increase connectivity, while agreeing to lay smooth conditions for Vietjet to soon operate direct flights from Ho Chi Minh City to New Delhi.


The two sides agreed to continue working closely and supporting each other at regional and international forums, especially within the United Nations.

Regarding the East Sea issue, they agreed on the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, and freedom of navigation and aviation in the sea; and peacefully settling disputes in line with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982, and soon concluding an effective and binding Code of Conduct (COC) in the East Sea.–VNA