Embassy of India

Hanoi, Vietnam

ICCR President’s visit to Vietnam

President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe visited Viet Nam on 4-5 August 2023. He held talks with Mr. Ta Quang Dong, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Viet Nam as well as met Prof. Le Van Loi, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics in Hanoi on 4 August 2023. 

During the meetings, the two sides recognized the deep people-level affinity and shared heritage between India and Vietnam and discussed areas of cooperation in the fields of culture, arts, academic exchanges, heritage conservation to further strengthen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Recalling the Cultural Exchange Programme for 2022-25 signed between the two countries in December 2022, they agreed on further facilitating cultural exchanges, cooperation in promoting diverse art forms and strengthening academic and institutional level interactions between the two countries.  

Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe delivered a lecture titled “Connecting through Culture: India and Vietnam” at the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics followed by discussions which was attended by scholars from the Centre for Indian Studies of the Academy, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences and other institutions. 

During the visit, he presented ICCR Distinguished Alumni Award for 2022 to Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Chairman of the Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam in recognition of his significant achievements and outstanding contributions to the promotion of understanding, goodwill and friendship between India and Vietnam. Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh recalled his studies at Banglore University in India between 1999-2001 through ICCR which enhanced his professional growth and cross-cultural understanding; he observed “India has a long-standing, multi-religious and multi-ethnic culture ….. In particular, India has an international standard education, which is prestigious worldwide, has a friendly training environment and advanced teaching methods.”

President ICCR also presented ICCR Award for the Promotion of Buddhist Studies for 2021 to Venerable Bhikkhuni Viditadhamma Lieu Phap (Dr. Duong Thi Thanh Huong) in recognition of her outstanding contribution to the promotion of Buddhist Studies internationally. Bhikkhuni Viditadhamma Lieu Phap recalled her studies in India and said “As Buddhist we consider ourselves as sons and daughters of the Buddha … and wish to visit India at least once in our lifetime”.  She also stated that India provides high quality education at all levels at a very affordable fee. 

Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe also interacted with friends of India in Vietnam and discussed areas for enhancing educational, cultural and people-level ties between the two countries that generated several useful ideas for the future. It was noted that ICCR scholarships for undergraduate, post-graduate and doctoral studies (https://a2ascholarships.iccr.gov.in) are being utilized productively in Vietnam and there was healthy interest for more exchanges among students, scholars and art forms. Greater engagement of ICCR alumni, including through above portal was also emphasized. Dr. Sahasrabuddhe visited the historical Tran Quoc Pagoda as well as the Temple of Literature in Hanoi. 

Hanoi

5 August 2023