Communist Party of Vietnam’s General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong will pay a visit to India from November 19-22 with an aim to expand the strategic partnership between the two countries. During the visit, which is made at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Mamohan Singh, the two sides will discuss measures to strengthen their close relationship and expand ties between the Vietnamese Party and Indian political parties, the two national assemblies and peoples. The visit will also focus on the pillars of the strategic partnership between the two countries. With 73 projects worth over US$253 million being developed by Indian investors in Vietnam as of June 2013, India ranked 30th out of 101 nations and territories investing in Vietnam.

Two-way trade was recorded at $3.94 billion in the first nine months of this year and is expected to amount to $7 billion by 2015. During the period, India’s imports from Vietnam amounted to $1.84 billion, up 49.6 percent year on year, while its exports to Vietnam increased by 31.2 percent to $2.1 billion. In an interview with Vietnam News Agency in New Delhi on November 13, Vietnamese Trade Counselor in India Nguyen Son Ha said Vietnam is India’s fourth biggest trade partner in ASEAN while India is one of Vietnam’s ten biggest trade partners.

The official also said that the two countries have agreed to set up an inter-subcommittee for trade between Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade and India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Bilateral economic and trade ties are one of the most crucial issues in the Vietnam-India strategic partnership, he added. Vietnam and India established their diplomatic ties in 1972 and enhanced their relations to a strategic partnership six years ago.