4 min readNew DelhiMay 7, 2026 05:09 AM IST
India and Vietnam decided to elevate bilateral ties to ‘Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’, set a new trade goal of $25 billion by 2030 and increase defence systems procurement between the two countries after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the visiting President of Vietnam To Lam on Wednesday.
After the bilateral talks with President To Lam, who is also the General Secretary of the Central Committee of Communist Party of Vietnam, Prime Minister Modi said, “We are today elevating our relationship to the level of an ‘Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.’ We will now steer our partnership toward even loftier goals. From culture, connectivity, and capacity-building to security, sustainability, and supply chain resilience—our cooperation is set to reach new heights across every sector.”
India was one of the first countries with whom Vietnam entered into a Strategic Partnership in 2007. This was also India’s first Strategic Partnership within the ASEAN region. The two countries elevated the relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016.
On the trade ties, Modi said, “Bilateral trade between India and Vietnam has doubled over the past decade, reaching a volume of $16 billion. Today, we have taken several significant decisions aimed at further boosting this figure to $25 billion by the year 2030. The MoU between our respective drug authorities will now enhance access for Indian pharmaceuticals in Vietnam. The export of India’s agricultural, fisheries and animal products to Vietnam is also set to become smoother. Very soon, Vietnam will get to savor India’s grapes and pomegranates, while we will enjoy Vietnam’s durian and pomelo.” The two sides signed 11 pacts, ranging from rare earth to digital payments, urban management to culture and manuscripts.
During the meeting, Vietnam also joined the Indo Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).
Defence, maritime security in focus
On the contentious issue of South China Sea, the joint statement said, in an oblique reference to China’s belligerent behaviour, “Underlining the link between prosperity and security, the leaders reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security and freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, while pursuing the peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), without resorting to threat or use of force.”
It also said that the leaders underscored the importance of “non-militarization and self-restraint in the conduct of all activities by claimants and all other states, and avoidance of actions that could further complicate the situation or escalate disputes affecting peace and stability. The leaders underlined that UNCLOS is the comprehensive legal framework governing all activities in the oceans and seas. The leaders further called for the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC) in its entirety and the early conclusion of negotiations towards a substantive and effective Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC).”
Story continues below this ad
Underlining that “defence and security cooperation” is a “key pillar” of the India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, it said that the leaders agreed to further “strengthen cooperation and enhance engagements in both traditional and emerging areas of defence cooperation, including defence policy dialogue, joint exercises, staff talks, joint research and co-production of new defence technologies, enhanced port calls by naval vessels and air force aircraft, peacekeeping activities, information sharing, hydrography, defence exhibitions, capacity-building, defence industrial cooperation, maritime security, maritime safety, and search and rescue operations based on mutual interest and priorities of the two countries.”
