India, Vietnam strengthen bilateral relations

At the meeting, the two sides agreed that defense and security cooperation are becoming more and more effective and have become a pillar of the bilateral relations between Vietnam and India. They also lauded the disbursement of the 100 million USD package to build high-speed patrol vessels for the Vietnam Border Defense Force.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and the Indian President also emphasized that economy-trade cooperation should be prioritized in the future to achieve the target of 15 billion US dollars in two-way trade by 2020. The Vietnamese leader highly appreciated India's investment into Vietnam namely in energy, renewable energy, and hi-tech agriculture.

The two sides agreed to enhance cooperation for oil and gas, information and technology, culture, tourism, and diplomacy.

Top legislator meets with Indian President

Also on the same day, National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân met with Indian President Ram Nath Kovind. She said that the President's acceptance to speak at the 14th NA's sixth session is very significant and demonstrates that the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership is entering a new development phase.

For his part, President Kovind affirmed that India attaches great importance to its time-honored friendship and comprehensive strategic partnership with Vietnam across. He thanked the legislature for inviting him to speak in front of the NA deputies during the event. He also said that this event, as well as Chairwoman Ngan's visit to India in 2016 and the recent exchange of the two countries' parliamentarian delegations, will help to tighten relations between the two legislative bodies.