The figure was released at a business meeting held in the central city of Danang on January 3 by the Indian Embassy in co-ordination with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Indian Business Chamber in Vietnam (INCHAM).

Present at the meeting were Indian Tourism Minister Chiranjeevi Konidala, Indian Ambassador to Vietnam Ranjit Rae, ICC Chairman Rajiv Mundha, Chairman of the Danang city People’s Committee Phung Tan Viet, representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), and businesses from both countries.

The event is part of activities in the framework of the Vietnam-India Business Forum to mark the 40th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties and the 5th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral strategic partnership.

Ambassador Ranjit Rae highlighted the fruitful cooperation between India and Vietnam in recent years, saying India has invested more than US$1 billion in the fields of mineral exploration and exploitation, information technology (IT) and health care services.

2012 marked a breakthrough in bilateral cooperation, especially in the fields of politics, national defence, economics, trade, cultural exchange, and human resource development, he said.

India is currently one of top ten foreign investors in Vietnam, with a total trade turnover in the first ten months of 2012 reaching US$3.2 billion.

While in Vietnam, an Indian business delegation is scheduled to work with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Vietnam Tea Association in Hanoi and make a fact-finding tour to the northern provinces of Thai Nguyen and Phu Tho.

VOV