Vietnam and India have seen profound and comprehensive development in a wide range of fields, from politics, diplomacy, economics and trade to culture, science, education and defence, at bilateral, regional and international levels.

The remark was made by Chairman of the Vietnam-India Friendship Association in Ho Chi Minh City Huynh Thanh Lap at a ceremony held in the city on August 13 to mark the 66 th anniversary of Indian Independence Day (August 15, 1947-2013).

Lap underscored the close traditional relationship between Vietnam and India , which originates from both nations’ similarities in history, culture, art and religion, and was nurtured by President Ho Chi Minh and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

The two sides will continue reinforcing and furthering their bilateral relations to realise the strategic cooperative partnership, which was established in 2007, he added.

Sharing these views, Indian Consul General in HCM City Deepak Mittal said that the sound relationship between Vietnam and India has become stronger, especially after the visits of high-ranking leaders from both countries.

Two-way trade between Vietnam and India reached nearly 2.6 billion USD in the first half of this year, up 40 percent against the same period last year. The figure is expected to hit 7 billion USD in 2015, said Deepak Mittal.

India is investing in 86 projects worth 936 million USD in Vietnam, mainly in the fields of oil and gas, mining, sugar cane, information technology and farm produce processing.-VNA