Israeli president to pay historic visit to Vietnam

Israeli President Shimon Peres is set to depart on Monday evening for a state visit to Vietnam aiming to strengthen political and economic ties between the two countries, according to a communique issued by Peres' media adviser. Peres will be the first Israeli president to visit Vietnam since the two countries established diplomatic relations in July 1993, and officials here described the week-long visit as historic. The president is taking with him a 70-member business delegation, which includes Israel's arms manufacturers and leading industries such as hi-tech, energy, finance, water and agro-tech. Peres is expected to have a host of meetings with top officials in Hanoi that will kick off on Wednesday. He will be received by his Vietnamese counterpart, Truong Tan Sang, and then meet with Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and Defense Minister Phung Quang Thanh for closed-door discussions. Vietnam's fast growing economy and relative political stability have attracted a lot of foreign investment. Israeli exports to Vietnam, mainly hi-tech, chemicals and agro- tech, more than tripled over the past two years. Peres and his hosts on Wednesday will ink several agreements, including joint shipping ventures and upgraded ties between the commerce bureaus of the two countries. The Israeli businessmen are hoping to seal lucrative deals in meetings with government officials and their local counterparts, according to Monday's communique. The effort to get a footing in the Vietnamese market isn't a cheap endeavor. Israeli media last week assessed the cost of Peres ' trip at 3 million shekels (803,000 U.S. dollars). Peres is also expected to talk about latest developments in the Middle East and reiterate recent warnings voiced by the Israeli government about Iran's nuclear ambitions.