India’s external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj is making her first visit to Hanoi, Vietnam from August 24-26. She is scheduled to meet her counterpart Pham Binh Minh and the Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Tan Dung during the course of her visit.
On the agenda will be increasing bilateral trade between the two countries which currently stands at $8 billion. The two countries are also looking at increasing bilateral defence cooperation in light of the heightened tensions in South China Sea pertaining to territorial disputes between China and Vietnam. India had extended a $100 million line of credit for the purchase of four Offshore Patrol Vessels in 2013.
On August 26, Sushma Swaraj will head a meet with the heads of 19 Indian missions from the ASEAN and East Asia region in Hanoi to outline plans to build on economic and strategic opportunities opened up by the regional tensions.
Swaraj’s visit also acts as a preparatory visit before Indian President Pranab Mukherjee’s state visit to Vietnam in September.