Hanoi, Jan. 9 :    Hanoi, Jan. 9:  The request from the Prime Minister surprised his Vietnamese hosts and, perhaps, caused worries in some quarters. But in the end it was honoured: Atal Bihari Vajpayee did get to meet Vietnam's living legend, General Vo Nguyen Giap, whose military strategies shaped many a victory, primarily the triumph at Dien Bien Phu, against the French and the Americans. For Vajpayee, who has said he belongs to a generation 'consumed by the cause of Vietnam', the 30-minute meeting this morning was momentous. The general, too, did not disappoint his guest: he walked into the International Convention Centre dressed in full-army regalia. Gen. Giap (pronounced Zap in Vietnamese), a close associate of Ho Chi Minh, led the troops during the war against the French and won a decisive victory at Dien Bien Phu in May 1954. Despite his five-foot nothing height, Gen. Giap is arguably the tallest political figure in the country today. But that, perhaps, is also his problem. The current leadership in Hanoi, which has opened its doors to foreign capital and is keen to normalise relations with the US, is a little nervous about veterans like Gen. Giap. Though his views are not known officially, Vietnam-watchers claim he does not approve of the policies being pursued by the current dispensation in Hanoi. Vajpayee visited the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh - the body lies embalmed- and paid rich tributes to the architect of Vietnam's independence. Hours later, he was praising the Vietnamese leadership for its 'Doi Moi', or open-door economic policy, which, he said, 'brought high growth, investment, expanding trade and a better standard of living for the Vietnamese people'. 'History has willed that we become strategic partners in the new century to promote peace, stability, security and sustainable cooperation among countries in Asia,' the Prime Minister said. Vajpayee was only matching the pragmatism of his Vietnamese hosts. Both sides agree that historical ties between the nations, which flourished during Jawaharlal Nehru's time, should be used to build closer cooperation on key economic and political issues,' he said.