Viet PM leads huge mission to India
Bilateral ties are expected to reach an all-time high after a joint declaration this Friday
By Ravi Velloor, India Bureau Chief

NEW DELHI - VIETNAMESE Premier Nguyen Tan Dung will be toasted in India as an important ally when he arrives today for a visit that will strengthen the two nations' strategic relationship.

Boosting business and cultural ties will also be high on the agenda as Mr Dung starts his visit in the eastern Indian metropolis of Kolkata, capital of Marxist-ruled West Bengal state.

India's Left parties have always been fascinated by the late Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh and Kolkata's main street is named after him.

Mr Dung, who took charge as Premier last year, then swings through Mumbai, India's commercial capital, before spending Friday in New Delhi.

He leads a delegation of 186, including 15 ministers of various ranks. This is one of the largest-ever delegations from a South-east Asian nation to be hosted by India.

'We are going high with the relationship. How high you will see on Friday night,' said Mr Vu Quang Diem, Vietnam's Ambassador to India.

He declined to be drawn on the strategic content of the joint declaration.

The two countries cooperate in a variety of security-related fields, including military contacts and information-sharing.

Those links will strengthen soon when India begins to train Vietnamese soldiers in peacekeeping operations.

India also helps Hanoi run the two nuclear reactors it inherited from the South Vietnamese.

Mr Dung's visit comes amidst a steady rearrangement of Asia's power balances and just two weeks after his colleague, President Nguyen Minh Triet, made a landmark trip to Washington to bury the hostility from the Vietnam war.

'Our relations with India are tested and problem-free. We can do anything together,' Mr Diem said.

Officials are already working on setting up dates for defence ministers of the two states to meet, following the prime ministerial trip.

'Vietnam is India's most important ally in Indochina at a time when smaller states such as Cambodia and Laos are positioning themselves for a period when China's dominance will be unchallenged,' a senior Indian official said.

'It is the only nation in the region that can stand up to China and, what is more, wants to do so.'

India, which has had a 'Look East' policy for 15 years, has recently stepped up its high-level contacts with South-east Asia.

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee travelled to Indonesia and Singapore last month. Soon after Mr Dung leaves, New Delhi will be preparing the red carpet for the Cambodian leadership.

With Vietnam's economy growing 8.2 per cent last year, just a tad slower than India's, trade and investment contacts are flourishing.

Last year, Vietnam was the top destination in South-east Asia for Indian overseas investments, receiving some US$580 million (S$880 million).

Still, geography is key. India and Vietnam exchanged goods worth a little over US$1 billion last year.

Vietnam's bilateral trade with China on the other hand was about 10 times as much.

Also, there are no direct flights between Vietnam and India and none are planned for the moment.

velloor@sph.com.sg