Press Information Bureau

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

05-May-2011 18:14 IST

Union Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee called on General Secretary of the Communist Part of Vietnam Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong today before embarking his return journey back to home. During this meeting, the Finance Minister said that India and Vietnam have a very old political and cultural relations dating back to the times of former Prime Minister Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru and President Ho Chi Minh. This relationship was further nurtured during the time of Smt. Indira Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India and Mr. Pham Van Dong former Prime Minister of Vietnam. The Finance Minister said that the strategic partnership between the two governments started in 2007 is a landmark in the development of our relations. It is based on mutual trust and convergence of interests including in the field of defence.

Mr. Trong said that Vietnam and India’s relations have strengthened through exchange of visits at higher levels and there is lot of scope for further strengthening especially in the field of economic and financial matters. He said that Vietnam wants to become a strong and modern industrial country by 2020 and sought India’s support in meeting this challenge.

Finance Minister Shri Mukherjee said that he met Vietnamese Prime Minister yesterday and requested him to resolve all the pending issues including setting up of a steel project in Vietnam by Tata Group of Industries. The General Secretary of Communist part of Vietnam, Mr. Trong said that he will discuss all the pending issues with the Prime Minister of Vietnam in order to get them resolved. Finance Minister Shri Mukherjee invited Mr. Trong to visit India in near future which will help in further boosting the relationships between the two countries.

DSM/BY/GN

Strategic partnership strengthening economic and investment cooperation, seeking resolution of pending projects and enhanced bilateral ties. India and Vietnam reaffirmed their strategic partnership and emphasized deeper economic and financial cooperation. Vietnam sought Indian support for industrial modernization, while India requested resolution of outstanding investment issues, notably a proposed steel project by an Indian group. The Vietnamese leader committed to raising pending matters with his government, and an invitation to visit India was extended to strengthen trade, investment facilitation, and cooperative initiatives.