Kovind to visit Vietnam, Australia from Nov 18 to 24

President Ram Nath Kovind will visit Vietnam and Australia from November 18 to 24 with an aim to strengthen ties with the Indo-Pacific nations, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.

Kovind will be in Vietnam in the first leg of his trip. This will also be his first visit to an ASEAN country, said Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary (east) in the Ministry of External Affairs.

In Vietnam, the president will first visit Da Nang, a region which has rich and historical civilisational connect. It is also the location of world heritage site Me Son.

Kovind will then visit Hanoi where he will lay a wreath at the monument of National Heroes and Martyrs and at the mausoleum of Ho Chi Min.

He will hold talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Phu Trong, besides meeting Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and other leaders.

Kovind will also be addressing the National Assembly of Vietnam. He will become the second foreign leader to achieve the rare honour after Chinese President Xi Jinping.

India and Vietnam have a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the two countries share a robust cooperation in the strategic areas of defence and space.

Kovind's visit to Vietnam comes less than a month after Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong became the country's new president following the death of incumbent president Tran Dai Quang.

The president's second leg of the visit will be in Australia from November 21 to 24. This is the first visit by an Indian president to Australia, Singh said.

Kovind will visit Sydney and Melbourne in Australia.

He will meet Governor General Peter Cosgrove and Prime Minister Scott Morisson during his visit.

Kovind will unveil a statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parramatta, a prominent suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales.

In Sydney, he will address the Indian diaspora. Australia has half a million strong Indian community.

The president will also address the Australian Financial Business Review.

In Melbourne, Kovind will meet Governor of Victoria Linda Dessau and address students of the Melbourne University.

"India and Australia are strategic partners and there is a growing partnership and convergence of views on security and defence and economic issues between the two countries," Singh said.

Trade ties also remain robust between India and Australia and the two countries share a bilateral trade of USD 20 billion.