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| Do Viet Ha, HUFO President and Indian Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City Madan Mohan Sethi perform the traditional candle burning ceremony of the Indian people. (Photo: TDO) |
Speaking at the meeting, President of the Vietnam – India Friendship Association of Ho Chi Minh City Huynh Thanh Lap highlighted the significance of the historic date of January 26, 1950, when the Constitution of India with basic political principles took effect, creating a foundation for India to develop into the power it is today.
He stressed that Vietnam and India have a long-standing and traditional relationship, originating from trade to cultural, artistic and religious relations. In particular, the historic meeting between President Ho Chi Minh and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1954 brought Vietnam and India closer together, standing shoulder to shoulder through all the ups and downs of history.
He noted that since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1972 which were upgraded to a strategic partnership in 2007 and then a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2017, the Vietnam – India relations have been growing strongly, and recording great achievements across cooperation pillars such as politics – diplomacy, defence – security, trade - investment, science – technology, culture, and people-to-people exchange.
On this occasion, he thanked the Indian Consulate General in HCM City and the Indian Business Association in Vietnam for their coordination in organising activities to mark the 50th anniversary of Vietnam – India diplomatic ties in 2022, expressing his hope to continue receiving support from the agency in people-to-people diplomatic events, thus deepening the bilateral relations.
Indian Consul General to Ho Chi Minh City Madan Mohan Sethi expressed his delight at the fruitful development of India-Vietnam relations in recent years, especially in economy, education and tourism. Two-way trade turnover between the two countries in 2022 reached more than VND15 billion, towards the prospect of reaching the target of USD20 billion by 2025. Tourism and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries also saw strong growth with 120,000 Indian tourists coming to Vietnam and more than 20,000 Vietnamese people coming to India in the second half of 2022 alone.
He thanked HUFO for hosting the get-together, and other people-to-people exchange events which have contributed to strengthening cooperation, solidarity and friendship between the two countries’ people.
He hoped that HUFO and the India - Vietnam Friendship Association of HCM City will enhance coordination with the Consulate General to connect Vietnamese and Indian businesses, towards expanding cooperation in trade, investment, health care and education./.