The set of commemorative postage stamps featuring ancient architecture of Vietnam and India.

The release is part of activities to mark the 45th founding anniversary of Vietnam-India diplomatic ties, 10 years since their Strategic Partnership and one year of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
The set of stamps includes two templates designed by artists from both countries, introducing India’s Buddhist monument Sanchi Stupa and Vietnam’s Pho Minh pagoda.
Secretary of the Indian Department of Posts A N Nanda highlighted the significance of the event, saying that the first-ever joint issue of commemorative postage stamps on the theme of “ancient architecture” is a symbol of the strong friendship between the two countries, according to the Vietnam News Agency.
“Bilateral relations have improved thanks to strong trust between the two nations, as well as their common views of international issues and security in Asia,” Nanda was quoted as saying.
For his part, Vietnamese Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan said Vietnam and India are witnessing flourishing relations in politics, diplomacy, economy, trading, defence-security, energy, culture, education and technology and people-to-people exchanges. “There are many new drivers for the development of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two nations,” Tuan was quoted as saying.
Pho Minh pagoda is located in Tuc Mac Hamlet, Loc Vuong Ward, Nam Dinh City, Nam Dinh province, far from Hanoi about 90km and 3km north of Nam Dinh City’s centre.
The pagoda was originally built during the Ly Dynasty and later expanded in 1262 during the Tran Dynasty. It was a place for high-ranking mandarins and the aristocracy of the Tran Royal Court to worship and lead their religious life. It includes 14 storeys, which were carved into the shape of flowers, waves and clouds.
Sanchi Stupa is the oldest stone structure in India and was originally commissioned by the emperor Ashoka the Great in the 3rd century BC. Its nucleus was a simple hemispherical brick structure built over  relics of the Buddha.
The Posts of Vietnam and India each will print 500,000 national postal stamps and 500,000 international postage stamps from the set of stamp templates.