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India and Vietnam on Wednesday upgraded their bilateral relationship to an “Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership”, signalling a deepening alignment in trade, security and regional cooperation after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vietnamese President To Lam.
The decision followed delegation-level discussions in New Delhi, where both sides reviewed the full spectrum of ties. While neither side publicly named China, officials indicated that concerns over Beijing’s growing military assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific formed part of the strategic backdrop to the talks.
Announcing the upgrade, Modi described Vietnam as “a key pillar” of India’s Act East Policy and its Indo-Pacific vision. “In the Indo-Pacific region, we share a common outlook,” he said, underlining that closer defence and security cooperation would contribute to “rule of law, peace, stability and prosperity”.
President Lam, who arrived in India on Tuesday on his first state visit since assuming office, is leading a high-level delegation. His visit is expected to give further momentum to economic engagement, with both sides looking to expand trade and investment linkages alongside strategic cooperation.
Rajnath Singh Holds Bilateral Talks with Vietnam’s Counterpart
Defence ties figured prominently in parallel engagements. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held separate talks with his Vietnamese counterpart, General Phan Van Giang, focusing on maritime cooperation, defence industry collaboration and joint research and production.
Officials said the two sides discussed scaling up naval exchanges, port calls and joint exercises, as well as strengthening institutional dialogue mechanisms between their armed forces. The emphasis was also on co-development and co-production in defence manufacturing, in line with India’s push for indigenisation.
In a post on X, Singh said the discussions aimed at adding “more vigour” to defence cooperation, reflecting what both sides described as growing strategic trust.
Had an excellent meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Vietnam Gen Phan Van Giang in New Delhi. India cherishes the long-standing ties with Vietnam. Our talks focussed on adding more vigour to the defence cooperation between India and Vietnam. The recent… pic.twitter.com/fVOYf2vVlV
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) May 6, 2026
The meetings collectively underscored a shared intent to deepen engagement across sectors, with Vietnam also seen as a gateway for India’s broader outreach to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
Team BharatShakti
