Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang is in the Indian capital, New Delhi, as part of a four-day state visit aimed at deepening trade and defense ties.

The Vietnamese leader is expected to hold a series of high level talks, starting Wednesday, which include meetings with Prime minister Manmohan Singh and Indian President Pratibha Patil.

Mr. Sang began his trip in the southern city Bangalore, where he met with the governor of Karnakata state, H. R. Bhardwaj on Tuesday, and visited the headquarters of information technology company Infosys.

Trade between India and Vietnam reached more than $2.7 billion in 2010 and more than $1.8 billion during the first six months of this year. The two countries have agreed to increase it to $7 billion by 2015.

Last month, India's Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna visited Vietnam for talks on expanding energy exploration near islands in the South China Sea, which Vietnam claims as its own. Those discussions sparked criticism from China which claims part of the territory.