Vietnamese students enthrall President Kovind with 'Sabarmati Ke Sant' rendition

President Ram Nath Kovind, who is on a three-day official visit to Vietnam, was on Monday left delighted as a group of students from the India Studies Centre, University of Social Sciences and Humanities in Hanoi performed 'Sabarmati Ke Sant,' a song dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi.

The President also tweeted out a video of "soulful rendition" of the song performed by the students saying, "Delighted to hear a soulful rendition of "Sabarmati Ke Sant" by Vietnamese students during the Indian community reception. Mahatma Gandhi's message of non-violence continues to inspire millions across the world!"

Earlier in the day spouses of Embassy Staff and students of the University of Vietnam performed the iconic, "Ye Dosti Hum Nahi Todenge" from the Hindi blockbuster movie "Sholay" in the presence of President Kovind. This is President Kovind's first visit to an ASEAN country since he assumed office in 2017.

In his address to the Vietnam-India Business forum, President Kovind lauded Vietnam for their stupendous success in building its economy. "Vietnam has seen spectacular economic growth in the last two decades. This has allowed reduction of the poverty rate from over 70 per cent in the 1990s to less than 10 per cent now. The increase in per capita GDP of Vietnam from less than US Dollars 100 in 1990 to over US Dollars 2500 today is a remarkable achievement with very few parallels in the developing world," he said.

The President also said that Vietnam plays a crucial role as India's trading partner in the ASEAN and urged Vietnamese and Indian businesses to partner each other for trade and investment, and technology collaboration.