Venkaiah Naidu flags off Jaipur Foot Camp in Hanoi

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said that the Jaipur Foot is one of the great scientific innovations from India that has transformed numerous lives across the world.

Naidu, who is currently in Vietnam on a four-day official visit said this at the inauguration ceremony of Jaipur Foot Artificial Limb Fitment camp at the Indian Embassy here

The camp was held under the 'India for Humanity' initiative launched to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

"Jaipur Foot is one of the great scientific innovations from India that has transformed numerous lives across the world," Naidu said in a statement.

"It is an initiative that provides to the differently abled persons a sense of freedom and mobility, a sense of dignity and an ability to live life fully," he said.

The Vice President further said the partnership between the Indian Government and Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS), the world's largest non -profit organisation for fitment of artificial limbs, is a partnership of "love and service".

The iconic Jaipur Foot is lighter than all the other artificial limbs and has transformed the lives of thousands and helped them lead a life of dignity and become productive members of the community, he added.

"It is a partnership for compassion. It is a partnership to honour the life of one of the greatest human beings of our generation, Mahatma Gandhi," Naidu said.

He also expressed hope that many more such collaborative initiatives will be taken up by both the countries in the years to come.

Earlier in the day, Naidu also paid floral tributes to the statue of Mahatma Gandhi situated within the premises of Indian Embassy. He also paid tributes to Vietnamese revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.

On Friday, the Vice President met his Vietnamese counterpart Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh and various other Vietnam leaders and expressed hope that countries would reach a consensus on "code of conduct in the South China Sea".

In a joint press statement issued along with Dang, Naidu said that both India and Vietnam were fully committed to an open, transparent, inclusive and rules-based regional architecture based on freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded economic activities and peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with the international law.

Naidu's visit follows a series of high-level exchanges last year including the visits of Prime Minister (January 2018) and President (March 2018) of Vietnam to India.

These exchanges have resulted in robust cooperation in several areas, have expanded defence and security ties, forged new economic and commercial linkages and deepened people-to-people engagement. The two sides share a common desire to promote peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.