Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee made an official visit to Vietnam in 2001. Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee visited in March 2007, and President Pratibha Patil in November 2008. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Vietnam in October 2010 to attend the 8th ASEAN-India Summit and the 5th East Asia Summit. Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar visited the country in May 2011. Vice President M. Hamid Ansari visited Vietnam on 14–17 January 2013 to attend the closing ceremony of the "India-Vietnam Friendship Year 2012". 2012. President Pranab Mukherjee made a state visit to Vietnam on 14–17 September 2014. Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj visited Vietnam on 26–28 August 2018 to attend the 16th India-Vietnam Joint Commission Meeting and the 3rd Indian Ocean Conference. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an official visit to Vietnam on 2–3 September 2016. Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu visited the country on 9–12 May 2019 to attend Vesak festivities. President Ram Nath Kovind made a state visit to Vietnam on 18–20 November 2018. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, several high level meetings were held virtually by the two countries in 2020. The 17th Virtual Joint Commission Meeting between Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, and Deputy Prime Minister and Vietnam Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh was held on 25 August 2020. A virtual bilateral defence meeting was held between Defence Ministers Rajnath Singh and General Ngo Xuan Lich on 27 November 2020. The first-ever India-Vietnam Virtual Summit was co-chaired by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on 21 December 2020. Economic relations India granted "Most Favoured Nation" status to Vietnam in 1975 and both nations signed a bilateral trade agreement in 1978 and the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) on 8 March 1997. The Indo-Vietnam Joint Business Council has worked to promote trade and investment since 1993. In 2003, both nations promulgated a Joint Declaration on Comprehensive Cooperation when the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nông Đức Mạnh visited India and both nations are negotiating a free trade agreement. In 2007, a fresh joint declaration was issued during the state visit of the Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyễn Tấn Dũng. The ASEAN–India Free Trade Agreement came into effect on 1 January 2010. India and Vietnam have also expanded cooperation in information technology, education and collaboration of the respective national space programmes. Direct air links and simplified visa regulations