Vietnam President to embark on three-day visit to India

Vietnam President Tran Dai Quang will embark on a three-day visit to India starting from March 2 to March 4, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday.

An 18-member delegation, consisting of businessmen and artists, led by the Quang will visit India.

The Vietnamese President will visit Bodh Gaya in Bihar during the visit, which is one of the revered Buddhist sacred sites in the world.

Vietnamese Ambassador to India, Ton Sinh Thanh said, "We have a strong defence cooperation with India. We have discussed this between the two countries earlier. We are keen on buying defence equipment for the navy. The issue of South China Sea will be discussed during the President's visit to India."

Vietnam is one of the few countries in South-East Asia that is raising its voice against China flexing its muscles in the South China Sea.

China claims a number of territories and islands as its own over the South China Sea. An estimated USD 5 trillion worth of global trade passes through the disputed territories in South China Sea.

Many countries such as Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam have questioned China's sovereignty claims, which may led to a military escalation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Vietnam in 2016.

The two countries signed 12 agreements in a wide range of areas covering IT, space, double taxation and sharing white shipping information.

India also extended a USD 500 million Line of Credit to Vietnam for facilitating deeper defence cooperation between the two sides.

In 2017, India and Vietnam celebrated 45 years of its diplomatic ties.