Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar today said Indo-Vietnam relationship is based on mutual trust and convergence of interests and Vietnam is a principal pillar of India's Look East policy.
Welcoming General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong in Parliament House today, she lauded the close cooperation enjoyed between the two Parliaments.
She also said there is support across the political spectrum in Indian Parliament for strengthening of the strategic partnership between the two countries.
Recalling Trong's earlier visit to India in 2010 as the Chairman of the National Assembly, the Lok Sabha Speaker noted that parliamentary exchanges between the two countries had developed significantly since then, including her own visit to Vietnam in 2011.
She called for expansion of functional cooperation in areas such as agriculture, fisheries and science and technology, noting that greater exchanges will provide for a deeper relationship and mutual benefit.
Mentioning that defence cooperation is an important pillar of Indo-Vietnam strategic partnership, the Speaker said India is committed to assisting Vietnam in the modernisation of its armed forces and looks forward to regular and periodic high-level interactions between the Ministries of Defence and the respective Armed Forces.
