The Indian Consulate General on Monday evening held a reception at Sofitel Saigon Plaza Hotel in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City to celebrate the 66th Republic Day of India.

The Republic Day of India marks the date the South Asian country’s Constitution came into force – January 26, 1950.

At the ceremony, Smita Pant, Consul General of India in Ho Chi Minh City, recalled the history of India's Republic Day and bilateral ties between Hanoi and New Delhi over the years.

Consul General Pant also mentioned the future of their rapport with a stress on trade and investment. 

Indian firms are increasingly investing in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, according to the diplomat.

The opening of a direct flight between India and Vietnam in November last year marked a turning point for furthering connectivity and cooperation in economy, culture, and education between the two countries, she said.

India wants to have more big projects invested by its companies in Vietnam, the consul general added.

With the foundation of the existing relationship between the two countries, the objective of bringing two-way trade to US$15 billion by 2020 is very promising, she said.

Vietnam and India aim to raise the figure to $7 billion this year.

In 2014, two-way trade between them topped $5.4 billion, while exports from Vietnam to India were worth more than $2.4 billion and imports from the South Asian country reached more than $3 billion, according to the General Statistics Office of Vietnam.

According to the Indian Consulate General, trade between the two countries hit $5 billion in 2013.

On behalf of the government and people of Ho Chi Minh City, Tat Thanh Cang, Deputy Chairman of the local People's Committee, congratulated India and its people on their achievements during the last time.

Cang emphasized that Vietnam and India have forged an in-depth cooperative relation and they have obtained many good results in various fields such as education, health, and defense.

Total exports and imports between Ho Chi Minh City and India were more than $765 million in value last year.

This is an encouraging number but it has yet to match the potential of the two sides, Cang said.

The two should thus continue efforts to promote collaborative relationships to achieve much more success, he added.

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