• India and Vietnam inked a vision document to further broad-base the scope and scale of defence ties by 2030 and sealed a logistics support pact to allow militaries of the two sides to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies.

• The signing of the two documents after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart General Phan Van Giang in Hanoi, is seen as a major upswing in India-Vietnam strategic ties.

• The MoU on mutual logistics support is the first such major agreement that Vietnam has signed with any country.

• The two defence ministers signed the ‘Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030’ that provides for expansion of defence and military ties in diverse areas.

• Singh and Gen Giang also agreed to the early finalisation of the $500 million defence Line of Credit (LoC) extended to Vietnam by India. 

• The defence minister handed over to Vietnam 12 high-speed guard boats built under a $100 million Line of Credit by India.

• Rajnath Singh visited Tran Quoc Pagoda, a revered Buddhist temple which reaffirmed the age-old civilisational and people-to-people linkages between the two countries.

India-Vietnam relations

• India and Vietnam share traditionally close and cordial bilateral relations. India was the chairman of the International Commission for Supervision and Control (ICSC) which was formed in pursuant of the Geneva Accord of 1954 to facilitate the peace process in Vietnam. 

• India initially maintained consulate-level relations with the then North and South Vietnam and later established full diplomatic relations with unified Vietnam on January 7, 1972. 

• Vietnam, an important country of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), has territorial disputes with China in the South China Sea region.

• India has oil exploration projects in the Vietnamese waters in the South China Sea. India and Vietnam are boosting their maritime security cooperation in the last few years to protect common interests.

• Vietnam is an important partner in India’s Act East policy and the Indo-Pacific vision.

• Bilateral defence engagements have expanded over a period of time to include wide-ranging contacts between the two countries, including through defence policy dialogues, military-to-military exchanges, high-level visits, capacity building and training programmes and cooperation in the UN peacekeeping and bilateral exercises.

• Relations between the two countries were elevated to the level of ‘Strategic  Partnership’ during the visit of Vietnam's then Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung to India in July 2007.

• In 2016, during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Vietnam, bilateral relations were further elevated to a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’. 

• From $200 million in the year 2000, bilateral trade between India and Vietnam has seen steady growth over the years. According to Indian statistics for Financial Year 2021-22, bilateral trade between India and Vietnam reached $14.14 billion. 

• Indian exports to Vietnam reached $6.70 billion while Indian imports from Vietnam amounted to $7.44 billion. 

• In FY 2021-22, for India, Vietnam was the 23rd largest trading partner globally and the fourth largest among ASEAN countries, following Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.

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