New Delhi [India], June 20 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday met Nguyen Van Nen, a member of the politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam and party secretary of Ho Chi Minh City.

Nguyen is on a five-day visit to India from June 19-23, accompanied by high-ranking officials. The visit is part of the activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and India.

It aims to further promote cooperation activities between the two countries, strengthen the Vietnam-India strategic partnership, and learn about India's policies and potential to seek cooperation opportunities, reported Saigon Online.

Earlier today, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President JP Nadda met with the senior leader of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Van Nen at the BJP Head Office in the national capital on Monday.

This New Delhi meeting is the continuation of the BJP's outreach programme "Know BJP" through which the BJP President is interacting with foreign dignitaries. The "Know BJP" campaign was started on the party's 42nd Foundation Day on April 6, 2022. Its second phase was held on May 16, 2022, while the third meeting took place on June 4, 2022.

"Know BJP" campaign is the BJP's initiative to introduce the party's vision, mission and work culture to different countries of the world. Under this program, Nadda has so far interacted with Nepal Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Minister for Foreign Relations of Singapore Vivian Balakrishnan and also envoys of 47 countries.

Jaishankar held bilateral talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son on June 17 and discussed a wide range of bilateral issues and regional and international developments of mutual interest. The two sides also exchanged an agreement in the cyber security domain.

Last month, India and Vietnam held the 12th round of Political Consultations and the ninth round of Strategic Dialogue between the foreign ministries of the two countries and explored new opportunities for partnership to support each other's economic development and national security.

India is one of the three strategic partnerships with Vietnam since 2016. Since Vietnam and India established diplomatic ties in 1972, bilateral relations have been deepened.

Despite the difficulties and impacts caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, the two countries held phone talks, and virtual meetings and carried out bilateral cooperation mechanisms.

India is one of Vietnam's ten largest trading partners. Two-way trade between Vietnam and India in 2021 surpassed USD 13.21 billion. Vietnam spent USD 6.95 billion on imports from India and exported products worth USD 5.26 billion to this country, up 36.6 per cent over 2020. As of December 2021, India ranked 25th out of 140 countries and territories investing in Vietnam with 313 projects, total registered capital of USD 910.4 million, reported Saigon Online. (ANI)