Strong outcomes can be expected from Modi's visit to Vietnam, says India's foreign secretary

As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gets ready to start his four-day visit to Vietnam and China on Friday (2 September), Foreign Secretary of India Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has said his visit to Vietnam can bring strong outcomes.

"Prime Minister's visit to Vietnam is a bilateral visit. It is a long standing invitation. We will let see what comes out of that tomorrow, but you can expect very strong outcomes. Then after that he is going to G20," The Indian Express quoted Jaishankar as saying.

According to reports, Modi will reach the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi on Friday night. During his visit to the country, which is an important strategic partner of India, Modi will meet President Tran Dai Quang and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc. He will discuss defence, security and trade with the leaders to strengthen bilateral ties between the countries, Preeti Saran, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said on Thursday.

On Saturday, the Indian premier will leave for Hangzhou, China from Vietnam to attend the G20 summit on 4 and 5 September.

"During the visit, India will take up issues like cross-border mobility of professionals, terror financing, tax evasion and reduction in remittance transaction cost among others," MEA Secretary (West) Sujata Mehta said adding that Modi will be the head speaker at the summit on inclusive and inter-connected development.

Meanwhile, it was reported that Modi will also have a bilateral meeting with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping, believed to be the first meeting between the two after their discussions on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit held in June in Uzbekistan.