The Founder of Vietnam-India Collaboration in Agriculture

The strong and flourishing ties between Vietnam and India were laid by the founding fathers of modern Vietnam and India, President Ho Chi Minh and Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The relationship between Vietnam and India is unique and was described by the late Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Van Dong as “clear as the blue sky without any clouds.” Immediately after the reunification of Vietnam in 1975, the relationship and collaboration between the two countries was raised to a new height, with agriculture becoming the sector for which Vietnam received immediate support from the Government of India. The first collaborative initiative was the establishment of the Rice Research Centre in the Mekong (Cuu Long) Delta with support from the Government of India. Dr. M. S. Swaminathan conceived this idea.

越南与印度之间牢固且蓬勃发展的双边纽带，由现代越南与印度的开国元勋——越南主席胡志明与印度总理贾瓦哈拉尔·尼赫鲁亲手奠定。越印两国关系独具一格，已故越南总理范文同曾将其喻为“澄澈如碧空，无一丝纤云”。1975年越南统一后不久，两国关系与合作便迈上全新台阶，农业成为越南即刻获得印度政府支持的领域。双方首个合作倡议是在湄公河（Cuu Long，九龙江）三角洲设立水稻研究中心，该项目由印度政府提供支持，其构想由M·S·斯瓦米纳坦博士提出。