Hanoi, Vietnam, Oct 18, SPA -- Foreign ministers from Vietnam and India held talks on Monday to promote trade and economicties, 50 years after India's founding prime minister made ahistoric visit to Hanoi. Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh arrived onSaturday for a three-day visit, which included a seminarSunday celebrating the landmark meeting between late IndianPrime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and late VietnamesePresident Ho Chi Minh. Nehru met Ho Chi Minh on Oct. 17, 1954, in Hanoi, just aweek after the capital was liberated from the Frenchcolonialists. Singh gave the Vietnamese a copy of a picturetaken during that meeting. "The celebrations will also help educate and encouragethe young generations of our two countries to preserve andpromote further this invaluable heritage," Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien told Singh at theVietnam-India Joint Commission meeting on Monday. During his visit, Singh met with legendary Gen. Vo NguyenGiap, 93, the military mastermind behind the defeats of theFrench and later the Americans. Monday's Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper quoted Giapas telling Singh that Ho Chi Minh and Nehru laid thefoundation for the countries' special relationship. The Joint Commission focused on how to increase bilateraltrade, and also discussed energy and education cooperation,according to the Indian Embassy in Hanoi. Singh was to meet Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dungbefore returning home Monday night. Two-way trade between Vietnam and India totaled US$525million (euro 421 million) last year.--SPA1237 Local Time 0937 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/211720