Pakistan-Vietnam relations, or Pakistani-Vietnamese relations, refers to the bilateral relationship between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The relationship is largely based on mutual trade and international political cooperation between the two countries. Pakistan is represented in Vietnam by its embassy in Hanoi, and Vietnam also maintains an embassy in Islamabad. During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, Pakistan (a non-aligned nation at the official level) maintained close ties with the United States-led Western Bloc to counter rival India's allegiance with the Soviet Union and

Eastern Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...

. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the United States was involved in the Vietnam War against Soviet-backed North Vietnam (which emerged the victor of the war and its government superseded that of

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

) while in the same time period, Pakistan had engaged in two major wars with neighbouring India in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

and

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

, the latter of which resulted in a devastating defeat for Pakistan and saw the emergence of an independent Bangladesh. Due to the fact that Pakistan was an ally with the United States and had begun to indirectly wage war against the Soviets in Afghanistan with heavy U.S.−backing, relations became strained between the two, with Pakistan closing its diplomatic mission in Vietnam in 1980 and Vietnam doing the same in 1984. However, relations greatly improved in the 2000s, and Pakistan reopened its embassy in Hanoi in October 2000. Vietnam also reopened its embassy in Islamabad and trade office in Karachi in December and November 2005, respectively. Relations between the two countries have continued to remain friendly, with Vietnam expressing an interest in increased economic and military cooperation with Pakistan. The heads of both nations have in recent times paid official visits to each other, with

Pakistani President The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Pervez Musharraf visiting Vietnam in May 2001 and Vietnamese President Trần Đức Lương also paying an official visit to Pakistan in March 2004. Throughout the following decade, several visits were made by various Vietnamese and Pakistani ministries to each other. A major part of Pakistan's pursuit to enhance its relationship with Vietnam is outlined in Pakistan's "Vision East Asia" strategy. The emergence of such a strategy came as a result of Pakistan's desire to balance its relations with Vietnam and other

East Asian East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea a ...

Southeast Asian Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainland ...

states by making an effort to circumvent Pakistan's close relationship with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and Vietnam's growing relationship with India—the former being a cause of concern for Vietnam due to its tense relationship with China and the latter being a cause of concern for Pakistan due to its rivalry and history of armed conflict with India. Vietnam provided US$50,000 worth of aid to Pakistan during the catastrophic

2010 floods 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

Trade links

In early 1998, Vietnam sent a group of businessmen to Pakistan, which had a meeting with the Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan and visited various factories and companies to study the economic environment and opportunities to do business with Pakistani companies. Trade between the two countries increased from US$10 million in 1999 to US$150 million in 2008. Pakistan is Vietnam's largest tea importer. Vietnam's imports from Pakistan consist of cotton, leather and pharmaceutical products. Potential for imports from Pakistan include motorcycles, surgical instruments and investment in coal mining and aquaculture. Vietnam has also purchased military equipment and armaments from Pakistan, causing tensions in its relationship with India. Meanwhile, Vietnam has the potential to export raw rubber and various rubber products and machinery to Pakistan.

Political cooperation

In May 2001 General Pervez Musharraf, paid an official visit to Vietnam. In March 2004, President Trần Đức Lương, at the invitation of President Pervez Musharraf, also visited Pakistan. Pakistan considers Vietnam an important diplomatic partner, because of Vietnam full membership of ASEAN, and Vietnam support of Pakistan's bid to be a full dialogue partner of ASEAN. Therefore, under the Pakistan "East Asia Vision Strategy" foreign policy, Vietnam has the potential to promote Pakistan's mutual interests in ASEAN, whereas Pakistan supports Vietnam bid for non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council. Vietnam's support for Pakistan in 2011 for EU duty waiver for its textile products has also been seen as very critical by Pakistani diplomats.

Pakistan's counter to Indian influence in Vietnam

Pakistan has been seriously following Vietnamese diplomacy and has a sense of wary over the development of

strong ties In social network analysis and mathematical sociology, interpersonal ties are defined as information-carrying connections between people. Interpersonal ties, generally, come in three varieties: ''strong'', ''weak'' or ''absent''. Weak social ...

between India and Vietnam, consequently having the potential of deteriorating relations between Pakistan and Vietnam. This is due to the fact that Pakistan is a long-time close ally of China, the latter of which has tense relations with Vietnam. Developments in Vietnam's relations with Pakistan's rival India would prove to be a major problem for Pakistan. To circumvent this, Pakistan's "East Asia Vision Strategy" was projected in order to balance Pakistani-Vietnamese relations.

Pakistanis in Vietnam

Areas with a significant population of

Pakistanis Pakistanis ( ur, , translit=Pākistānī Qaum, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. According to the 2017 Pakistani national census, the population of Pakistan stood at over 213 million people, making it the w ...

in Vietnam include the cities of Hanoi and

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Vietnamese in Pakistan

Many factors contribute to the limited presence of Vietnamese communities and culture within Pakistan, most notably the latter's close relationship with

. Due to the absence of a strong historical connection and no close relations between the two countries (as well as the geographical distance between them), there continues to be a lack of interaction between the Vietnamese and Pakistani people (not taking into account the diasporas of both communities that are present in countries such as the United States and Canada). Despite this, it is not uncommon for the two communities to cross paths as Pakistan regularly hosts a respectable amount of Vietnamese tourists and small communities of Vietnamese people and

cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...

can be found in Karachi.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakistan-Vietnam relations Vietnam Bilateral relations of Vietnam