Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong’s forthcoming visit to India aims to expand the strategic partnership between India and Vietnam, ensuring bilateral cooperation is kept central to the five major pillars of their partnership.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Nguyen Phu Trong is due to pay a State visit to India from November 19-22 at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh.

Over the last 40 years and in particularly since the establishment of the strategic partnership in 2007, mutual collaboration between both nations has extended across a variety of fields.

The Indian Government has always recognised the importance of Vietnam in its “Look East” Policy.

The two countries share similarities and common interests and are keen to cooperate and support each other at regional and international forums.

However, their economic, trade and investment cooperation is yet to achieve the same success as political relations, with two-way trade turnover only reaching US$ 3.94 billion in 2012, and a subsequent US$2.2 billion in the first five months of this year.

Both nations aim to increase bilateral trade to US$7 billion by 2015 and reduce levels of import surplus from Vietnam.

India has invested in 73 Vietnamese projects, currently valued at more than US$253 million, ranking 30th among 101 countries and nations investing in Vietnam as of June 2013.

 Meanwhile, Vietnam has poured a substantial US$23.6 million into three Indian projects.

More recently, India’s Electricity Group TATA has been chosen as a major investor of Long Phu 2, the largest ever India-invested electricity project in the southern province of Soc Trang.

Following the agreement on scientific and technological cooperation which was signed in 1978, the two countries set up a Vietnam-India sub-committee on scientific and technological cooperation. This has contributed greatly to continuous improvement and enhanced joint working in the areas of science, education, culture and tourism.

So far they have conducted nine sub-committee sessions and carried out 13 research projects on information and technology (IT), nano and materials technologies, sea science and other key areas.

In addition, India provides Vietnam with immediate and longer-term training programmes, offering more than 150 annual scholarships in a variety of fields including agriculture, IT, English language and remote sensing.

India has run an English teaching centre in the central city of Danang and has committed to opening a similar one at the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam (DAV).

Over the years, Vietnam and India have been active in promoting cultural links by extending a cultural exchange programme and successfully implementing the Vietnam-India Friendship Year 2012, with a diverse schedule of celebratory activities and events in Hanoi and HCM City.

They also plan to accelerate the opening of an Indian cultural centre in Hanoi and begin restoration works of Cham Tower in My Son.

The upcoming visit from the Party leader, Nguyen Phu Trong, is destined to provide an even firmer political foundation, as well as promoting the government’s policy of further strengthening close links and traditional ties with India.

During the visit, senior leaders are expected to compare notes on regional and international issues of mutual concern and effective coordination and cooperation at multilateral forums.

(VOV)