Jitendra Nath Misra confirmed the strong interest of Indian companies in Vietnam at a news briefing held in HCMC on Thursday to introduce “The Relationship between India and Southeast Asia: A Strategic Commitment or Regional Integration” conference.

“The interest of Indian investors in Vietnam is very strong, even in the current difficult time,” Misra told the Daily after the press conference. Misra gave an example that the chairman of Tata International reassured that the group took a strategic view of staying long in Vietnam by continuing its investment in a multi-billion- dollar steel project in northern Vietnam.

“Once they get the land, they will start the project. So Indian companies are not withdrawing because of the (global) crisis,” Misra said. He added that Indian sugar companies including KCP had increased their investment in Vietnam in recent years.

New Indian companies have come recently. Misra said during the crisis time, an Indian US$4.4-million factory had gone online in Binh Duong Province to process Vietnamese pepper for export.

Misra told the press conference that Vietnam was the top destination for Indian investment in Southeast Asia. He revealed six Indian delegations operating in diverse scopes of business had visited Vietnam so far this year and five more were arriving in the next months to explore Vietnam. Last year, 12 Indian business groups came to gauge this market.

Dhananjay Kumar, chairman of the Indian Chamber of Commerce (Incham) in Vietnam, said Indian companies came to Vietnam to see how they were able to contribute to stronger trade growth between the two countries.

Last year saw two-way trade between India and Vietnam reach US$2.48 billion, up 62% over 2007. In September 2008, the two countries already achieved the target of US$2 billion in annual trade set by their prime ministers for the year 2010.

Speaking at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Business Forum in HCMC earlier this month, Misra said India attached the highest importance to developing relations with Vietnam within the framework of India’s Look East Policy.

Also on Thursday in HCMC, Misra reiterated Vietnam was a strategic and reliable partner of India. He highlighted Vietnam’s important role in helping India establish stronger links with the whole Southeast Asian region, which will be discussed at the international conference taking place at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities on May 15 and 16.