Will look into Vietnam offer of oil blocks in South China Sea: India

India has said it is examining Vietnam’s offer of additional oil blocks in the South China Sea. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is scheduled to arrive in the country Monday for a two-day visit.

During the October 27-28 visit, he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sign bilateral agreements. He will also visit Bodh Gaya and meet Bihar Chief Minister Jeetan Ram Manjhi.
“Vietnam has offered some oil blocks in South China Sea. We are examining it and if they are commercially viable for us we will take that into account and proceed further,” the Ministry of External Affairs’ spokesperson said Friday.

Asked whether China’s concern on India’s presence in the South China Sea will be an impediment in the country accepting Vietnam’s offer of five additional oil blocks, he said, “India and Vietnam relationship is not contingent on other countries. Our relationship is a bilateral one and we focus on those bilateral issues.”

ONGC Videsh Ltd has operations in number of oil blocks in South China Sea which were offered to it by Vietnam. China and Vietnam have an acrimonious relationship due to their stand-off over the South China Sea, a huge source of hydrocarbons. China has been objecting to India’s oil exploration projects in the disputed waters.

A Letter of Intent (LoI) was signed between ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL) and Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) during President Pranab Mukherjee’s visit to that country last month.
The LoI is aimed at further consolidating cooperation between India and Vietnam in energy sector and pave the way for future collaboration between the two countries.

Enhancing economic relations is going to dominate the discussions between Modi and Tan. Observing that the two countries have exceeded their trade target set for 2015 ahead of schedule, officials said the two sides have mature defence and security cooperation architecture.

“We are working on those targets and the targets will be decided by the Prime Ministers when they meet,” officials said, when asked if the trade target will be revised given that both countries have already achieved US$7 billion trade target set for 2015.

Tan, accompanied by a delegation of 50 businessmen, will hold talks with the top Indian leadership on strategic bilateral issues of security and energy as well as regional matters. Both sides are likely to sign at least a dozen pacts to boost cooperation in sectors like energy, infrastructure, trade and tourism during Tan’s visit.

Modi invites ideas on Australia visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Sunday invited ideas from everyone on his upcoming visit to Australia. He asked people to send their suggestions on mygov.in. Modi posted on the micro-blogging site Twitter: “During my Australia visit in November I would be attending a variety of programmes, including an interaction with the Indian community there. I want to hear ideas and thoughts from all of you, including friends in Australia and the Indian community there on my visit.” “Participate in this MyGov Open Forum and share your ideas on what you feel are important issues for my Australia visit,” he tweeted. He will be visiting Australia later next month to attend the G20 summit.

 indianexpress

India has said it is examining Vietnam’s offer of additional oil blocks in the South China Sea. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is scheduled to arrive in the country Monday for a two-day visit.
During the October 27-28 visit, he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sign bilateral agreements. He will also visit Bodh Gaya and meet Bihar Chief Minister Jeetan Ram Manjhi.
“Vietnam has offered some oil blocks in South China Sea. We are examining it and if they are commercially viable for us we will take that into account and proceed further,” the Ministry of External Affairs’ spokesperson said Friday.
Asked whether China’s concern on India’s presence in the South China Sea will be an impediment in the country accepting Vietnam’s offer of five additional oil blocks, he said, “India and Vietnam relationship is not contingent on other countries. Our relationship is a bilateral one and we focus on those bilateral issues.”
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/will-look-into-vietnam-offer-of-oil-blocks-in-south-china-sea-india/#sthash.Ph5V0ZpQ.dpuf

India has said it is examining Vietnam’s offer of additional oil blocks in the South China Sea. Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is scheduled to arrive in the country Monday for a two-day visit.
During the October 27-28 visit, he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and sign bilateral agreements. He will also visit Bodh Gaya and meet Bihar Chief Minister Jeetan Ram Manjhi.
“Vietnam has offered some oil blocks in South China Sea. We are examining it and if they are commercially viable for us we will take that into account and proceed further,” the Ministry of External Affairs’ spokesperson said Friday.
Asked whether China’s concern on India’s presence in the South China Sea will be an impediment in the country accepting Vietnam’s offer of five additional oil blocks, he said, “India and Vietnam relationship is not contingent on other countries. Our relationship is a bilateral one and we focus on those bilateral issues.”
- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-others/will-look-into-vietnam-offer-of-oil-blocks-in-south-china-sea-india/#sthash.Ph5V0ZpQ.dpuf