Vietnam-India expand cooperation in many fields

On the morning of November 20, the official welcoming ceremony for General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation was solemnly held at the Indian Presidential Palace according to State protocol.

Indian officials, embassy staff, community representatives and Vietnamese students welcomed General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the airport. (Photo: Tri Dung/VNA)

After the welcoming ceremony, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and members of the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation laid wreaths in tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at the Raj Ghat Memorial. Here, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and the delegation were introduced to some typical features of Mahatma Gandhi and performed the flower-spattering ceremony to commemorate the Indian national hero.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong was moved to write in the Memorial's Guestbook: "In memory of Mahatma Gandhi - Outstanding leader - Indian national hero - World cultural celebrity. His name, career, personality and ideas on non-violent struggle, peace, progress and social justice will forever be imprinted in the hearts of the great Indian people, lasting forever in human history."

On the same morning, at the Leela Palace Hotel, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong received Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid to greet him and report on the program of activities of the visit.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong highly appreciated and thanked Indian agencies, including the very important role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, for their efforts and active coordination with Vietnamese agencies to carefully prepare for the visit; he hoped and believed the visit would be a great success.

Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid affirmed that the visit is an important milestone in the bilateral relationship and a strong driving force to promote cooperation between Vietnam and India, especially in economics, trade, investment, and defense and security cooperation.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed the positive developments in the relationship between the two countries on the basis of political trust and many similarities, agreed to increase delegation exchanges at all levels, expand cooperation in areas with great potential, and emphasized the importance of cooperation in economics, trade, investment, defense and security.

The General Secretary highly appreciated the results of the 15th meeting of the Vietnam-India Joint Committee on Economic, Trade and Scientific Cooperation chaired by the Foreign Ministers of the two countries last July, which set out specific plans to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation; hoped that the governments, ministries and sectors of the two sides would make efforts to implement and promote the results of high-level agreements, the Action Program 2013-2015 as well as cooperation documents signed during this visit; hoped that the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Minister himself would continue to make positive contributions to deepening the strategic partnership between Vietnam and India./.

According to VNA