The two leaders will participate in the signing ceremony for a number of agreements and have a press briefing later.

Indian President will then meet with Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh.

President Patil and her delegation arrived in Hanoi on November 26. During her meeting with the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU), in presence of State Vice President Nguyen Thi Doan, former vice president Nguyen Thi Binh and Minister of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, she praised the role played by Vietnamese women in the national defence and construction.

Addressing the function, VWU Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa affirmed that the Vietnamese people will always remember the precious support of its Indian government and people during the process of national construction and development.

On the issue of female empowerment and gender equality, Minister Ngan stressed that the Vietnamese Party and State attaches huge importance to the liberalisation and advancement of women in the country. There are an increasing number of women involved in all aspects of life and many of them hold leadership positions, Mrs Ngan said.

On the same day, President Patil visited Hanoi ’s Birla orphan village.

Vietnam-India relations have experienced several important developmental steps since the two countries established a strategic partnership in July 2007. The two countries’ Prime Ministers met at the 7^th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM7) in Beijing in October.

Since the establishment of diplomatic ties, the two countries has experienced significant economic developments. In 1982, Vietnam and India set up a joint commission on economic, cultural, scientific and technical co-operation, a mechanism, which has allowed the two sides to boost co-operation in many fields.

Trade between Vietnam and India has increased remarkably from US$72 million in 1995 to over US$1 billion in 2006 and US$1.53 billion in 2007. During the first 7 months of this year the figure reached US$1.7 billion.

By October 2008, India had 30 valid investment projects in Vietnam with a total implemented capital of US$578 million, ranking 27^th out of the 76 investors in the country.

India supports Vietnam in its bid to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2008-09 term. Vietnam supports India in its efforts to increase co-operation with ASEAN members, its participation in East Asia co-operative matters and its bid to become a permanent member of the expanded UN Security Council.