Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and Indian Minister of External Affairs Subramanyam Jaishankar paid a visit to Tran Quoc Pagoda in Hanoi on Oct. 15.
Tran Quoc Pagoda is located on an islet east of West Lake in Yen Phu Ward, Tay Ho District. Built from the pre-Ly dynasty (Ly Nam De), the pagoda was originally named Khai Quoc. Tran Quoc is one of the oldest and the most sacred pagodas in Vietnam.
Planted in the middle of the pagoda’s grounds is a Bodhi tree grafted from the Great Bodhi Tree, where Shakyamuni Buddha attained enlightenment more than 25 centuries ago. This Bodhi tree was a present from the President of India when he visited Hanoi in 1959. Through the ravage of time, Tran Quoc is one of the most sacred pagoda for Vietnamese Buddhists.
It is also the oldest pagoda in Hanoi, listed by the State as a National Historical and Cultural Heritage right from the first round in 1962. Travel website Wanderlust recently named Tran Quoc Pagoda as one of the 10 most beautiful ancient temples and pagodas in the world.
The pagoda visit was part of the top Indian official’s three-day trip to Vietnam. He was set to co-chair the 18th Meeting of India-Vietnam Joint Commission on Economic, Trade, Scientific, and Technological Cooperation with his Vietnamese counterpart.
Vietnam and India established diplomatic ties in January 1972, and upgraded their relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership in September 2016.
Vietnam and India are important security and energy partners of each other, with two-way trade reaching more than 15 billion USD and they both actively support regional and global multilateral mechanisms.
Jaishankar's visit to Vietnam is expected to open up many new opportunities for bilateral cooperation between the two countries, promoting in-depth exchanges between policymakers, scholars and people from all walks of life, especially the young generation, of the two countries.