Following talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and visiting Vietnam Communist Party general secretary Nguyen Phu Trong here on Wednesday, the two sides signed eight pacts of which the ones on energy cooperation and protection of information in defence will intensify the already close ties in these two sectors.
For the defence pact, preparatory work was done during meetings between high ranking officials such as Vietnam’s Chief of General Staff Do Ba Ty and Defence Secretary R.K. Mathur during which they agreed to have greater cooperation in capacity building, joint projects and training.
India has already agreed to train 500 Vietnamese submariners and will transfer four naval boats under a $100-million credit line.
As Dr. Singh noted, “we reaffirmed the importance of defence and security cooperation and agreed to strengthen it further. India will continue to assist Vietnam in modernisation and training of its defence and security forces.”
In a joint statement, both leaders termed defence cooperation a “significant pillar” of strategic partnership and noted the increased pace of defence dialogue, training and exercises, ship visits, capacity building and exchanges between think tanks.
On the economic front, an MoU formalised Vietnam’s decision to award Tata Power a $1.8-billion thermal power project after a failed bid by the same company to set up a $5-billion steel plant. An air services agreement, which was also among the eight to be signed, could lead to direct flights giving a boost to trade and tourism.
(The Hindu)
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