The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, received His Excellency Mr Tran Dai Quang, the President of Vietnam at Rashtrapati Bhavan today (March 3, 2018). He also hosted a banquet in his honour.Welcoming the Vietnamese President to India, the President thanked Vietnam for the crucial role it played as coordinator country in ensuring substantive outcomes at the ASEAN India Commemorative Summit held in New Delhi in January 2018.The President said India and Vietnam enjoy a civilisational relationship going back 2000 years. Buddhism, the Hindu Champa civilisation and our shared philosophy have strengthened our common bonds. He stated that our economic engagement has seen a remarkable growth. Our leaders have set a trade target of US $ 15 billion by 2020. We need to redouble our efforts to reach this target.
The President said that India and Vietnam have common perspectives on peace, stability and security in the Indo-pacific region. Both are committed to the centrality of ASEAN in a regional architecture that should be inclusive, open and based on the principles of international law.Subsequently, in his banquet speech, President Kovind said the great leaders of our respective freedom struggles, Mahatma Gandhi and President Ho Chi Minh, energised our link in the modern era. We have today built our close friendship on the path shown by them.The President said that we firmly believe that a strong India-Vietnam partnership would lead to peace and prosperity for our people and for the wider region. To this end, Indian and Vietnamese economic growth must complement each other. He expressed confidence that this visit will contribute to strengthening our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and lay the roadmap for enhanced engagement.