• VUFO receives Ho Chi Minh memorabilia from India

• Strengthening ties with India

The presentation ceremony was held by the Indian Embassy, the Vietnam-India Friendship Association and the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO).

Addressing the event, the Indian Ambassador to Vietnam, Ranjit Rae, highlighted the fine development of bilateral ties. He said that the launch of the book is part of activities to mark the 40^th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Ambassador Rae said Vietnam plays an important role in India’s Look East policy, and India is keen to invest more in the Vietnamese market.

The book’s author, who is also Chairman of the India-Vietnam Solidarity Committee of West-Bengal state, is currently on a visit to Vietnam from May 20 to June 1.

Over the past four decades, Sharma has strongly supported the Vietnamese people in their past struggle against foreign aggressors, as well as their current process of national construction and defence. He has made significant contributions to boosting Vietnam-India relations, especially in the fields of trade and culture.

Sharma also wrote a book on Vietnam-India relations from the beginning to the 21^st century. His most recent work on traces of Indian culture in Vietnam has been translated into Vietnamese and published in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to the Indian scholar, ties between India and Vietnam date back to more than 2,000 years when Hindu traders from the Bhagalpur region established the ancient Champa kingdom in central Vietnam.