Modi Government To Give Greater Push To Look East Policy: Sushma

HANOI: The Narendra Modi government will strive to give a greater push to India's Look East Policy, turning it into "acting East", External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said in the Vietnamese capital as she arrived on a three-day visit.

Sushma Swaraj, addressing a gathering of the Indian diaspora, said the Modi government, which rode to power on the back of a huge mandate, "will not disappoint" the people of India.

The minister, who is visiting her sixth neighboring country since she took over as minister in mid-May, also said that India would seek to cooperate with Vietnam in rice exports. India has helped Vietnam with its knowhow in rice cultivation through a rice centre set up here, she said adding "look today, at how they have left us behind" in rice exports.

"We want to go in for joint rice exports with Vietnam," she said.

Sushma Swaraj is to chair a meeting of the heads of Indian Missions in the region besides inaugurating the 3rd Round-table of the ASEAN-India Network of think tanks.

She said India has "very good" defence and security cooperation with Vietnam as well as in agricultural cooperation.

The minister's visit is a preparatory to the state visit of President Pranab Mukherjee to Vietnam Sep 14-16.

The visit of the Indian minister and forthcoming visit of President Mukherjee to this Southeast Asian nation assumes significance in the backdrop of Chinese President Xi Jinping's India visit in the third week of September.

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