National

“India can help Vietnam in infrastructure”

— PHOTO: PTI

ADMIRING HERITAGE: President Pratibha Patil takes a look at artefacts on display at the Natural History Museum in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday.

Ho Chi Minh City: President Pratibha Devisingh Patil on Tuesday identified infrastructure development as a key area in which Indian industry could assist Vietnam.

In her keynote address to the Vietnam-India Business Forum here, she made particular mention of the Highway Development Programme in India and said this could “become a model for public-private partnership, which can be usefully replicated in many other developing countries, including Vietnam.”

President Patil called upon India and Vietnam, which have been impacted by the ongoing global economic crisis, to strengthen the economic and commercial content in their ties and open up more opportunities for businesses to create mutually beneficial links. While India could transfer its expertise in engineering, transportation and power generation, it could benefit from the “commendable success” of Vietnam in areas such as processing of marine products or agricultural crops like cashew, pepper, coffee and rice, she said.

The meeting, organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (INCHAM) and the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and held in a city that has been the engine of Vietnam’s economic growth with a GDP growth rate of 12.6 per cent in 2007 as against 8.5 per cent for Vietnam as a whole, was attended by representatives from a large number of Vietnamese and Indian companies that included Tata Steel, the Essar group and Ishan International Pvt. Ltd.

A 16-member business delegation from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry was in Ho Chi Minh City to attend the Business Forum Meeting. A memorandum of understanding was signed between INCHAM and VCCI.

In his address, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Ashwani Kumar said Vietnam was “completely ready to embrace Indian industry.” Noting that Vietnam’s foreign investment was of the order of $35 billion in 2007, he listed the investment advantages of the country as “a free market economy with a 95 per cent literacy rate and half its population below the age of 25.” With this, the “huge goodwill towards India and leveragable democratic dividend make Vietnam an ideal destination for Indian investments.”

Viernam’s Vice-Minister of Trade and Industry Le Duong Quang said that in the wake of the adverse impact of the global recession in 2008 there was an “aggressive effort by the Vietnam government to promote foreign investments and we are seeing increasing foreign direct investment owing to our stable and favourable investment climate. We are a reliable partner in the world arena.”

To a question how Vietnam was managing the impact of the global crisis, Madame Nguyen Thi Hong, Vice-Chairperson of the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, said the administration of the city and the central government had put in place a group of policies “with a focus on stabilising the economy for development with attention to social welfare.” Despite the crisis, Ho Chi Minh City had seen a GDP growth rate of 10.9 per cent in the first nine months of 2008, she said.

Later in the day, the President separately addressed the 16-member FICCI delegation. An issue raised with some urgency by the delegation was the need for a direct flight between India and Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City is the largest in Vietnam with a population of eight million, of which migrants account for three million. In 2007, its FDI inflow was $2.87 billion, and it contributes more than 20 per cent to the country’s GDP.

PTI reports:

The Vietnam-based sister of the murdered television journalist Soumya Vishwanathan on Tuesday appealed to visiting President Pratibha Patil to seek an expeditious probe into the case. The President assured Subha Vishwanathan that she would speak to Home Minister Shivraj Patil and other officials.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu