Indian President Ram Nath Kovind on Sunday arrived in the central city of Da Nang, his first stop in a three-day state visit to Vietnam.

The November 18-20 trip was made at the invitation of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

This is the first-ever Vietnam visit of Kovind, as well as his maiden trip to Asia since taking office in July 2017.

Upon his arrival in Da Nang, the Indian president held talks with Truong Quang Nghia, the city's Party chief, during which they discussed the cooperation between the central Vietnamese hub and other localities in India, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

Da Nang has over the years received many delegations from Indian cities, associations and naval vessels, whereas India's goverment, through through the Indian Embassy in Vietnam, has offered scholarships in various fields to city officials.

Da Nang's exports to India topped US$1.5 million in the Jan-Sep period, up nine percent from a year earlier, according to the Vietnam News Agency. As of September 2018, Indian had registered two projects in the city with a total investment of $13.5 million.

On Monday morning, Kovind paid a visit to the Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture before leaving for the neighboring province of Quang Nam to tour the world cultural heritage site My Son.

He left Quang Nam for Hanoi by noon the same day to officially commence his state visit in the Vietnamese capital, where he will have talks with President Trong and other Vietnamese leaders.

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