Pakistan–Vietnam relations

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,[1] and Vietnam also maintains an embassy in Islamabad.[2] During the Cold War, 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. 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involved in the Vietnam War against Soviet-backed North Vietnam (which emerged the victor of the war and its government superseded that of South Vietnam) while in the same time period, Pakistan had engaged in two major wars with neighbouring India in 1965 and 1971, the latter of which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.[3] Relations between the two countries have continued to remain friendly, with Vietnam expressing an interest in increased economic and military cooperation with Pakistan.[4][5] The heads of both nations have in recent times paid official visits to each other, with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf visiting Vietnam in May 2001 and Vietnamese President Trần Đức Lương also paying an official visit to Pakistan in March 2004.[6] 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.[7][8][9] The emergence of such a strategy came as a result of Pakistan's desire to balance its relations with Vietnam and other East Asian / Southeast Asian states by making an effort to circumvent Pakistan's close relationship with China 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.

Pakistani-Vietnamese relations

Pakistan	Vietnam

Vietnam provided US$50,000 worth of aid to Pakistan during the catastrophic 2010 floods.[10]