Indian President Pranab Mukherjee left Ho Chi Minh City on September 17, concluding his four-day state visit to Vietnam at the invitation of President Truong Tan Sang.

This was the first Vietnam visit by an Indian leader after India set up its new government, reflecting the country’s appreciation of its traditional friendship and strategic partnership with Vietnam .

During his stay, the Indian President held talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Truong Tan Sang and met with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung.

At the meetings, the two sides agreed on major orientations to further boost the strategic partnership between Vietnam and India , both bilaterally and multilaterally.

India reaffirmed to continue regarding Vietnam as a pillar in its Look East policy while Vietnam reiterated its support for India ’s policy and its all-round connectivity with Southeast Asia .

The two sides also agreed to enhance bilateral economic-trade and investment cooperation with a view to bringing two-way trade to 15 billion USD by 2020.-VNA