India-Vietnam inked 12 agreements to bolster bilateral relation

India and Vietnam on 3 September 2016 signed twelve agreements to boost the bilateral relations between the two nations. The agreements were inked after delegation level talks between of Prime Minister of the two nations, Narendra Modi and Nguyen Xuan Phuc.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the first Indian premier to visit the country in 15 years, was on a two day visit (2-3 September 2016) to Vietnam. The last Prime Minister to visit Vietnam was Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who visited the nation in 2001.

The signed agreements include

• Framework agreement on cooperation in the exploration and uses of outer space for peaceful purposes

• Protocol for amending the agreement on avoiding double taxation

• Program of cooperation in UN Peacekeeping Matters

• Protocol on celebrating 2017 as the "Year of Friendship”

• MoU on health cooperation

• MoU on cooperation in information technology

• MoU on cooperation between the Vietnam academy of social sciences and the Indian council of world affairs

• MoU on cooperation in cyber security

• MoU for cooperation in the fields of standardization and conformity assessment

• MoU on establishment of the centre of excellence in software development and training

• Technical agreement on sharing of white shipping information

• Contract for offshore high-speed patrol boats

Apart from this, India also extended 500 million dollar Line of Credit (LoC) to Vietnam for facilitating deeper defence cooperation with the South East Asian nation. The LoC was extended as the two nations elevated their ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to respond to emerging regional challenges.

Till now, Vietnam had Strategic Partnership only with Russia and China.

Besides, Prime Minister Modi also extended an invitation to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to visit India at a mutually convenient date. PM Phuc accepted the invitation and the dates for the visit will be finalized through diplomatic channels.

Now get latest Current Affairs on mobile, Download # 1  Current Affairs App