India’s group Tata and Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade are completing procedures for an early implementation of Long Phu II thermal project worth US$1.8 billion under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) format in Vietnam.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung speaks at a Vietnam-India trade and investment forum in India on October 27.

The project was announced by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at a Vietnam-India trade and investment forum in India last night. The event attracted representatives of 300 enterprises of the two countries.

The Government portal quoted Dung as saying that this will be the biggest Indian-invested project in Vietnam if it is translated into reality and a clear sign of Indian firms’ growing interest in Vietnam.

At the forum, Dung pledged to create favorable conditions for Indian firms to invest in various fields in Vietnam.

During talks with leaders of large economic groups such as Tata, Essar, Ilfs and Jet Airways ahead of the forum, Dung praised contributions by Indian companies to growing trade and investment relations between the two nations over the years.

Dung said the Vietnamese Government will support Indian firms in different sectors, including energy, garment and textile, chemistry, infrastructure and farm produce while backing large groups to expand their operations in this market.

Dung and his wife started a three-day official visit to India on October 27 at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The visit aims to foster Vietnam-India strategic partnership in the fields of economy, science and technology, culture, education and tourism.

The two sides have regularly exchanged high-ranking delegations with the latest to Vietnam made by President Pranab Mukherjee in September this year.

Two-way trade between the two countries grew 16% annually over the past five years. Indian firms have so far invested in 78 projects worth more than US$254 million in Vietnam, ranking 30th among the nations and territories investing in the country.

SGT/VNN