Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a bilateral meeting with General Ngo Xuan Lich, Defence Minister of Vietnam at Ministry of Defence headquarter in Hanoi

Hanoi: With an objective to take defence ties to the next level, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has held bilateral talks with her Vietnamese counterpart General Ngo Xuan Lich and also inaugurated an office of Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) in Hanoi.

The opening of office in the city on Tuesday would give a new opportunity to Indian defence company in Vietnam.

“BEL's new representative office in Hanoi was inaugurated today by Hon Raksha Mantri in the presence of senior Indian and Vietnamese officials. The inauguration happened during an Indo-Vietnam defence industry business meet being held at Hotel Melia, Hanoi,” the Navaratna defence Public sector Company said in a tweet on Tuesday.

On her arrival, “Smt @nsitharaman was received yesterday at Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi, Vietnam by Shri Parvathaneni Harish, Ambassador of India to Vietnam & other senior officials,” said the ministry of defence in a tweet.

She was also given the ceremonial reception in the city.