VUFO meeting honours India-ASEAN Council Chairman
(VOV) - The Vietnam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) hosted an October 4 get-together in Hanoi to honour of ASSOCHAM India-Asean Business Promotion Council Chairman Shantanu Srivastava’s 30-year friendship with Vietnam.
VUFO Chairman Vu Xuan Hong expressed his sincere thanks to the Indian businessman for his extensive contributions to the amiable and cooperative ties between the two countries.
Shantanu Srivastava first came to Vietnam as a diplomat, and after ending his tenure, decided to pursue business opportunities that would allow him to remain close to his self-described “second homeland”. In his role as Managing Director and CEO of Ishan International Pvt. Ltd, Srivastava played an important role in the Indian Chamber of Commerce’s (INCHAM) establishment in Vietnam.
The Indian businessman has also actively involved himself in social activities during his 30 years in Vietnam. He has raised funds to build 20 houses for the disadvantaged citizens in Ho Chi Minh City ’s Can Gio district and presented a number of scholarships to local students in need.
He has assisted the development of Vietnam’s railway, textile, and tea industries by supplying machinery and commissioning the construction of a textile dyeing laboratory.
He recently sponsored the establishment of Vietnam Houses in the Indian capital New Delhi and the west coast city of Mumbai.
Srivastava, who was awarded the Friendship Order of Vietnam in 2003 and the insignia For Peace and Friendship among Nations in 2006, said he has additional ideas for bilateral cooperation he intends to pursue with the VUFO.
His suggestions include a programme encouraging Vietnamese companies to open representative offices in India, joint traditional Indian medical research, opening of Hindu training courses in Vietnam and Vietnamese language training courses in India, and education and healthcare access schemes assisting poor Vietnamese children.