Hanoi, Jan 7: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee today arrived aboard Air India Krishna Deva Raya on a state visit in Hanoi and settled into the same suite at Hotel Daewoo that US President Bill Clinton vacated after his trip in November. His formal reception is at the Presidential Palace tomorrow.But even before Vajpayee has been formally introduced to this country of 80 million, his entourage with its security cordon raised eyebrows among the people who are used to seeing their President Tran Duc Luong cross the street unaccompanied by officials.Vajpayee arrived here to reinforce the ``traditionally close and friendly relations'' with Vietnam and boost India's ties with Asean. According to Ministry of External Affairs officials, the trip comes at a time of Vietnam's growing importance in the Asean grouping.On a late Sunday afternoon at Noibai International, the Prime Minister, along with Minister of State for External Affairs Ajit Panja and Minister of State for Industry and Commerce Omar Abdullah received a warm welcome from Vietnamese Minister for Science, Technology and Environment Chu Toan Nha, Vice Foreign Minister Le Cong Phung and the Indian Ambassador Saurabh Kumar. The official reception tomorrow will be followed by meetings with the Prime Minister and President followed by signing of agreements on tourism, culture and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. The President will then host a banquet in honour of Vajpayee.Apart from Asean, Vajpayee said, ``We would discuss a range of bilateral and global issues of mutual concern with the leaders of Vietnam.'' The recently signed Mekong Ganga project - which involves cooperation in the areas of education, culture, tourism and infrastructure - is likely to form the basis of discussions, indicated the PM.The project plans to link Vietnam and India by road through Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and Bangladesh. This road route to Asean will bypass China.Vajpayee's Hanoi trip will reinforce the Look East policy that brought P.V. Narasimha Rao to this country six years ago. However, the Vietnam where Vajpayee is today is very different from the one that Rao visited. The country that defeated the might of the American Army and is now courting their investment has made a successful transition from being known as the nation of straw hats to the New Tiger of South East Asia.Vietnam saw a growth of 6.7 per cent in 2000 and is targetting 7 per cent in 2001. In comparison to India's foreign direct investment of 5 billion dollars despite liberalisation, Vietnam already has 12 billion dollars in investment, largely from Singapore, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. After the Free Trade Agreement with the US in July, said MEA officials, Vietnam is likely to grow in economic eminence. S.T. Devare, Secretary (Economic Relations) in the MEA says: ``There is tremendous scope for improvement in economic ties between the two countries that can be tapped now''.
