NEW DELHI: India is likely to seal a landmark civil nuclear pact with Vietnam this week during the visit of the President of Vietnam’s National Assembly, Ngyun Thi Kim Ngan , the first such partnership with a neighbour of China.The Indo-Vietnam Inter-Gover nmental Framework Agreement in the field of civil nuclear cooperation will entail capacity building and training of Vietnamese nuclear scientists by India besides assistance to improve safeguard measures of nuclear installations in the Southeast Asian country, according to persons familiar with the development. Sri Lanka is the only other developing country with which India has signed a civil nuclear pact.During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trip to Hanoi in early September the two sides also agreed to “expedite the negotiation” for a new Inter-Governmental Framework Agreement on Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, “which will set a strong foundation for further cooperation in civil nuclear energy”. India has been helping Vietnam’s civil nuclear sector since signing the first agreement in 1986, besides supplying a research reactor and training a few scientists under the International Atomic Energy Agency programme.Vietnam currently has bilateral civil nuclear pacts with Russia and Japan, a fact that will complement Indo-Vietnamese partnership. While Russia has wide-ranging presence in India’s civil nuclear sector, India and Japan concluded a civil nuclear pact last month.The visit of Ngyun Thi Kim Ngan, third highest ranking leader of Vietnam, will push comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries, coming close on the heels of Vietnam’s defence minister visit to India. The National Assembly President will be accompanied by a big business delegation to push economic and investment ties. The visit will also provide a fillip to parliamentary cooperation through exchanges between leaders of parliaments, committees, parliamentary friendship groups and parliamentarians of two countries.