New Delhi, Dec. 5: India today agreed to train Vietnamese Air Force pilots to fly combat jets, highlighting a major thrust in its "Look East" policy.

The arrangement was agreed to at a meeting between Indian defence minister Manohar Parrikar and his Vietnamese counterpart General Ngo Zuan Lich who is New Delhi with a large delegation.

"Received the Vietnamese Defence Minister Gen. Ngo Zuan Lich & had fruitful discussions on the expanding Indo-Vietnamese defence partnership," Parrikar tweeted after the meeting but did not provide details.

But other sources said that the Vietnamese Air Force would send officers to India to learn flying in the Russian-origin Sukhoi 30 aircraft that are the IAF's frontline combat jets.

They said in the talks that have been held in the past, the IAF was planning to send its pilots to train the Vietnamese. It has now been decided that India will host the training.

The decision comes even as India and Vietnam are careful of Chinese sensitivities on the South China Sea. China and Vietnam dispute their territorial waters along the sea.

But India has been giving training to Vietnamese navy in operating the Russian-origin Kilo-class submarines.

The arrangement on the Sukhois means that the defence cooperation between India and Vietnam is now moving into another dimension. The IAF operates the Sukhoi 30 Mki while the Vietnamese operate the Sukhoi 30 Mk2.

Sources in the government said Parrikar and Gen Ngo also signed a minute on the terms and condition of a $500 million line of credit that India had earlier offered to Vietnam.

The Vietnamese defence minister's delegation includes the chiefs of its air force and navy and the deputy chief of general staff. They would be given a briefing at the navy command, control, communication and intelligence organisation called IMAC in Gurgaon near the capital tomorrow.