India to supply warship spares to Vietnam
New Delhi, (PTI): As part of measures to boost strategic defence ties with Vietnam, India will supply vital spares of Russian origin Petya class warships and send an expert team to train army of the country.
The announcement to supply 5000 essential spares, which would enable Vietnam to again operationalise its Russian anti-submarine warships, was made by Defence Minister, A K Antony, after a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart General Phung Quang Thanh in Hanoi.
Antony, on his first visit to Vietnam, also said a four-member army team would go to Hanoi in the first half of next year to train Vietnamese army on conduct of UN Peacekeeping operations.
The two countries also agreed to set up a Joint Working group to frame to form a framework for boosting further defence cooperation, a defence ministry release said here.
Vietnam, which has been a close ally of India, evinced interest to take Indian help in application of information technology in defence and technical support to the country's navy.
The Vietnamese Defence Minister also suggested increase in Joint Naval and Military level exercises between the two countries.
Source: The Hindu
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Indian military chief wraps up Viet Nam visit
01/03/2008
Chief of the Army Staff Committee of India, Admiral Sureesh Mehta, and his entourage left Ho Chi Minh City on February 29, concluding their official visit to Viet Nam .
During his four-day stay in Viet Nam , Admiral Sureesh Mehta met with State President Nguyen Minh Triet and Defence Minister Phung Quang Thanh.
He also held talks with Chief of the General Staff of the Viet Nam People’s Army, Sen. Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Khac Nghien.
The delegation laid a wreath and paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh at his mausoleum, and visited the High Commands of Navy and Military Zone 7.
The Indian military chief also visited the Hong Ha Shipbuilding Company, the Viet Nam Military History Museum, Ha Long Bay and several landscapes in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City.