Addressing the event, President of the HCM City chapter of the Vietnam-India Friendship Association Huynh Thanh Lap said the Vietnam-India relations were established through trade, cultural, art, and religious exchange activities.
Through years, the two countries have shown they are always reliable, sincere friends and have reaped immense attainments in trade, education, training and tourism, Lap said.
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An art performance at the celebration. Source: voh.com.vn |
In 2018, the HUFO, the HCM City chapter of the Vietnam-India Friendship Association, and the Consulate General of India in HCM City successfully organized many diplomatic and political events and supported trade exchange between the two countries.
Lap said the HUFO and the HCM City chapter of the Vietnam-India Friendship Association want to increase coordination with the Indian Consulate General and the Indian Businesspeople Association in Vietnam to organize more cultural, artistic, people-to-people exchange and trade activities.
India’s Consul General Dr. K. Srikar Reddy said the time-honored relations between Vietnam and India have been fostered by their generations of leaders and people and based on mutual trust and understanding and the sharing of viewpoints in many regional and global issues.
Dr. K. Srikar Reddy said as Vietnam’s economic hub, HCM City has drawn in many Indian businesspeople, traders and experts and hosted an array of political and diplomatic events and cultural, religious and tourism exchanges between India and Vietnam.
On the occasion, the HCM City chapter of the Vietnam-India Friendship Association opened an Indian Culture Exhibition at Saigon University.
India is currently Vietnam’s 10th biggest trade partner. In 2017, bilateral trade hit USD 12 billion and it is expected to reach USD 15 billion by 2020.
India ranks 29th out of the 126 countries and territories investing in Vietnam, with 188 projects capitalizing at USD 878 million.
More than 25,000 Vietnamese visited India while 110,000 Indians visited Vietnam in 2017.
Source: VNA