Both the countries have decided to strengthen cooperation to ensure safety and security of vital sea lanes of communication (SLOCs) in the Asia-Pacific region.

India’s private airliner, Jet Airways signed an agreement with the Vietnam Airlines for operating a direct flight between India and Vietnam , which is likely to start from July 2012.

The President of Vietnam Truong Tan Sang, accompanied by a high level official and business delegation to India from October 11 to 15. He is slated to visit Sri Lanka on the next leg of his tour. President Sang held detailed delegation level talks with the Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh on whole gamut of bilateral relations. Two countries decided to further consolidate their cooperation in regional and international fora.

Both the leaders pledged to raise the level of bilateral trade from the existing $ 2.7 billion to $ 7 billion per annum.

The Vietnamese President was accorded ceremonial reception in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Both the countries identified several other areas of cooperation like people-to-people exchanges, energy, science and technology, information and communications technology and conservation and restoration of Indian cultural relics in Vietnam.

After the delegation level talks, President Sang said : “We will like India to extend a new credit line to Vietnam for its development. There is a need for increasing investment flows from India to Vietnam and vice versa. We need to cooperate in science and technology, defence and security. India should help us in training our official and help us in capacity building.”

He said that that all the disputes of his country with China, including claims over South China Sea, would be solved peacefully through negotiations and code of conduct for good relations in the region as well as through the UN Convention on the Laws of the Seas.

The Indian Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh said : “This is the first visit by the (Vietnamese) President outside the ASEAN region and this reflects the importance attached by both sides to our relationship.”

He said that both sides agreed to work towards an early finalisation of the India-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement in Services and Investment. He said that India and Vietnam being maritime neighbours face common security challenges from terrorism, piracy and natural disasters. Both the countries believe in ensuring the safety and security of the vital sea lanes of communications (SLOCs).

“We have instituted a mechanism of a biennial dialogue on security issues between our Ministry of Home Affairs and its Vietnamese counterpart. The Extradition Treaty signed today will provide a legal and institutional basis for our cooperation,” the Indian Prime Minister said.

Year 2012 will be a landmark year for both the countries as it will be the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries and 20 years of India’s Dialogue Partnership with ASEAN. It was decided to celebrate 2012 as the Year of Friendship between India and Vietnam.

“Developing close relations with Vietnam is an important component of our Look East Policy. We have agreed to strengthen our cooperation in regional mechanisms such as the ASEAN, the ASEAN Regional Forum, the East Asia Summit and the Asean Defence Ministers Plus Eight Dialogue,” Prime Minister Singh said.

Later speaking at the Vietnam-India Business Forum jointly hosted by three apex Indian industry bodies, the Vietnamese President said that in over last three decades through continuous economic reforms his country has been able to reduce poverty to below 10%. He invited Indian businessmen to invest in sectors like healthcare, oil and gas, manufacturing and agro-industry. Vietnam has devised a ten-year strategy for the development of infrastructure, including electrical power, roads and sea-ports, which offers big opportunities to Indian companies, he said.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam, Nguyen Xuan Phuc said the current focus of Vietnam was on building socialist market oriented economy and integration with the world economy. He said that Vietnam considered India as an important strategic and political partner. He said that the Indian investment in Vietnam presently stands at $250 million, which is far below his expectations. He called upon Indian companies to avail the preferential policies of his government to promote investment in Vietnam.

The President of the Confederation of Indian Industries, B Muthuraman in his address at the forum suggested five areas like joint exploration of oil and gas resources and new and green technologies; auto-industry and engineering products; pharmaceutical products; agriculture; and telecommunication, banking and IT & ITES, to strengthen bilateral economic cooperation between India and Vietnam .

The President of another apex Indian industry body ASSOCHAM, Dilip Modi said that India and Vietnam were playing a pivotal role in voicing concerns of the developing countries through regional and international fora like ASEAN, Mekong Ganga Cooperation and WTO. He said that Indian industry was keen to align with Vietnamese development agenda and build a relationship based on competitive advantages.

The Past President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Dr VL Cutt appreciated the success of Vietnam in the ‘Millennium Development Goals’ of poverty reduction. He also expressed concerns of some Indian companies in investment in Vietnam like delays in land acquisition, renewal of license by pharmaceutical companies and visa clearance.