President Pranab Mukherjee will be on a four-day state visit to Vietnam from September 14 to 17. He will meet the Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang, the General Secretary, the Prime Minister, and the Chairman of the National Assembly in Hanoi.
This is Pranab Mukherjee’s second visit to Hanoi as he had earlier visited the country during his tenure as Finance Minister in 2011.
The President’s agenda will focus on increasing defence and trade relations. The current bilateral trade is worth $8 billion and is projected to grow to $15 billion by 2020.
The two countries are working on various Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) that could be signed during Mukherjee’s state visit.
To name a few, the Indian and Vietnamese administrations are hoping to conclude an MoU in animal health and customs cooperation, on fish farming in India, on Cham monument restoration project in My Son, an MoU on Nalanda University which Vietnam has not signed as yet, an MoU on cooperation between youth, and also an MoU between Jet Airways and Vietnam Airlines which will start flights between India and Vietnam. ONGC Videsh and Petrovietnam are also expected to sign a Letter of Intent on two additional blocks offered by Vietnam during this visit.