Taj hotel welcomes Vietnamese PM, wife

New Delhi, Oct 28 (IANS) Visiting Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung who is accompanied by First Lady Tran Thanh Kiem were accorded a grand welcome Monday by the Taj Palace Hotel here for their three-day stay in the capital.

Rolling out the red carpet for the special guests, the hotel showered flower petals on them and presented them with a Buddha scarf as they walked along the pathway decorated with traditional rangoli showcasing the national bird of India, peacock.

The prime minister was hosted at the luxurious Tata Suite that is crafted for heads of state, royalty and world leaders as it encapsulates a slice of history, legend, and contemporary comfort, the hotel said in a statement.

The hotel said: "To ensure a flawless experience, executive head chef Rajesh Wadhwa and Vietnamese expat chef Hanna from Blue Ginger, Taj Palace, specially curated exquisite Vietnamese specialties Ca Chen Chung Tuongan and Bo Noung Ong Tre for the State guests that was served in the Tata Suite."

The hotel has, in the past, hosted dignitaries such as President Xi Jinping and First Lady Peng Liyuan of China, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan, former president Nicolas Sarkozy and first lady Carla Bruni of France, and former premier Wen Jiabao of China.