BODH GAYA: Vietnam President Tran Dai Quang visited the famous Mahabodhi Temple here on the first day of his official visit to India.
As part of his three-day visit from March 2 to 4, President Quang, who aims to strengthen their partnership to ward off China's growing influence, will hold talks with his Indian counterpart Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
President Quang is also expected to interact with prominent Indian businessmen.
The Vietnamese President is leading an 18-member delegation, including ministers, party leaders, and businessmen.
On a related note, Prime Minister Modi had visited Vietnam in 2016, a year before the two countries celebrated 45 years of honouring diplomatic ties.
During this visit, the two countries signed 12 agreements in a wide range of areas covering IT, space, double taxation and sharing white shipping information.
India had also extended a USD 500 million Line of Credit to Vietnam for facilitating deeper defence cooperation between the two sides.