General Le Van Dung, Head of the General Department of Politics of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), received the newly-appointed Indian Ambassador to Vietnam , Ranjit Rae in Hanoi on February 28.

At the reception, General Dung, who is also Head of the Vietnam-India Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group, confirmed that the Vietnamese people and the VPA have always respected the valuable support of the Indian people and army in the struggle for national independence in the past as well as in national construction and defence at present.

Dung said he believed that with their cultural similarities and the close contact between both leaders, the traditional friendship and cooperation between the two peoples and two armies will continue, developing for peace and stability in the region.

He said he hoped that the Indian Ambassador will make a positive contribution to fostering the traditional friendship between the two countries’ people and armies.

For his part, Ambassador Ranjit Rae said that the Vietnam-India relationship, set up by Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh and Indian Prime Minister J. Nehru, developed into a strategic partnership in 2007.

Defence ties between the two countries have seen strong developments and recorded many results in training, exchanges of delegations and information, showing the mutual trust between the two nations, he said.

He expressed his wishes that the Vietnamese and Indian armies would continue strengthening talks at defence deputy minister-level in the future, helping to deepen the relationship between both countries./.