India and Vietnam on Friday launched a strategic partnership seeking to consolidate their defence, security and economic ties and signed eight accords in areas ranging from civil nuclear energy to agriculture, according to dpa. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung signed a joint declaration on establishing a strategic partnership for diversifying and deepening bilateral ties after talks in New Delhi, the Indian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "It (the strategic partnership) will encompass bilateral relations in the political, economic security, defence, cultural, science and technological dimensions and steer their cooperation in regional and multilateral fora in the years to come," the joint declaration issued after the Singh-Dung talks said. Some of the salient features of the partnership include the setting up of a joint working group on countering terrorism, closer defence cooperation, India's assisting Vietnam through grants and concessional lines of credit, working together to expand bilateral trade as well as enhance science, technology and cultural cooperation. Eight other pacts were signed after the delegation-level talks on cooperation in the fields of atomic energy, envisaging training of manpower from Vietnam in India in nuclear and related fields, cooperation between the Vietnam Steel Corporation and Tata Steel and in fisheries and agriculture. Other agreements including an educational exchange and a cultural exchange programme were also signed by officials in the presence of the two premiers. Earlier on Friday, Dung invited Indian companies to invest and do more business in his country which has been recording a robust economic growth rate of more than 8 per cent over the last two years. Dung, who addressed Indian business leaders at a joint business forum in the Indian capital, said investment opportunities in Vietnam were immense with over 76 countries entering into 8,000 projects valued at over 70 billion dollars. Two-way trade between India and Vietnam has increased by about 30 per cent since 2001, to reach 1 billion dollars in 2006. Dung, who is in India on a three-day visit to consolidate trade and business ties, was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the presidential palace by Singh on Friday morning. He later met Sonia Gandhi, chairwoman of India's ruling United Progressive Alliance (NDA) as well as LK Advani, who heads the main opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Dung, who concluded his India visit after the talks with Singh, was scheduled to depart for Hanoi late on Friday night.
