There has been an over 40 per cent increase in bilateral trade between India and Vietnam in the first nine months of this year compared to the same period last year, Vietnamese Ambassador Ton Sinh Thanh said on Tuesday.
He added that this growth was "much higher" than growth in Vietnam's bilateral trade with any other country and also made India one of the top ten trading partners of Vietnam.
"There has been significant improvement in bilateral relations especially in the last one year. Economic relations have improved significantly especially in trade and investment fronts," Ton Sinh Thanh said during a talk on India-Vietnam relations at the Foreign Correspondents' Club here.
"During the first nine months of this year, bilateral trade has reached $5.6 billion as per our data. According to Indian data from the Commerce and Trade Ministry, it is even higher at $6.26 billion," he said.
The Ambassador said that at this rate, the bilateral trade would cross the $10 billion mark this year itself.
"We also hope to achieve the target of reaching the $15 billion by 2020, a target set by our leaders," he added.
He said India was also now one of the top ten trading partners of Vietnam and also ranked 15 among all foreign investors in the country.
"There has been progress in investment as well with 36 new Indian projects started in first ten months of this year worth a total of $182 million," Sinh Thanh said.
He added that India was one of the closest friends of Vietnam and the two countries shared good relations on other fronts as well including tourism, diplomatic ties as well as politics.
"Our relation with India is now better than ever, and free from any problem," he said.
Vietnam and India are celebrating 2017 as Friendship Year which marks the 45th anniversary of their diplomatic relation and 10 years of strategic partnership, he said.
The Vietnamese Prime Minister is expected to visit India in January when he would also attend the Republic Day celebrations.
--IANS
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