New Delhi, Dec 15 (ANI): Defence Minister A K Antony will leave tomorrow on a three-day official visit to Vietnam tomorrow.
Antony will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Defence P K Rastogi, Vice Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant General M L Naidu, Air Marshal V R Iyer and Vice Admiral D K Dewan.
In Hanoi, Antony will hold meetings with his Vietnamese counterpart Phung Quang Thanh.
He will also make courtesy call on Vietnam President Nguyen Minh Triet and the legendry leader General Vo Nguyen Giap.
Antony will visit various defence installations in Ho Chi Minh city, besides holding discussions with the Indian Chamber of Business.
Over the years Indo-Vietnamese Defence cooperation has grown steadily through visits by military delegations, ship visits from India and training of Vietnamese Defence personnel in India.
The Indo-Vietnamese bilateral relationship got a boost in 1994 with the signing of the Protocol on Defence cooperation. It reached a new high in July 2007, when the two countries agreed on ‘Strategic Partnership’ during the visit of the Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to India.
Vietnam has now become a member of the UN Security Council for a period of two years.
Last month, the third India-Vietnam Security Dialogue was held in New Delhi and a number of decisions were taken by both sides to provide further impetus to bilateral relations.
Antony will return home on Wednesday. (ANI)