Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership

June 9, 2022

On June 8, 2022, India and Vietnam signed a joint vision statement along with a military logistic support pact. Both the pacts would enhance the scope and scale of existing defence cooperation between both the countries.

Key Facts

There is a need to enhance the scope of defence cooperation in a bid to secure strategic interests in Indo-Pacific region, that China seeks to dominate.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh and Defence minister of Vietnam General Phan Van Giang, held bilateral talks in Hanoi.
Meeting between the ministers was scheduled in the light of 50th anniversary of Vietnam-India diplomatic ties.

Signed Pacts

Both the ministers signed the “Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030”.
A “Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Logistics Support was also signed.
During the talks, India also agreed to early finalisation of a USD 500 million Defence Line of Credit to Vietnam. This line of credit will help in implementing the projects that will add substantially to defence capabilities of Vietnam. It will also further India’s vision of ‘Make in India, Make for the World’.
Both the leaders held a “wide-ranging discussions on effective and practical initiatives, in order to expand bilateral defence engagements. regional and global issues were held between the two sides.
Minister also announced to gift two simulators and a monetary grant to set up a language and IT lab at Air Force Officers Training School for the purpose of capacity building of Vietnamese Armed Forces.
India agreed to continue to extend support to Vietnam with development and capacity building assistance, by means of several programs including projects like Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) and e-ITEC initiatives, Mekong-Ganga Project, digital connectivity and Ph.D. fellowships.
Both the countries also agreed to give a boost to infrastructure and connectivity projects, besides promoting tourism and people-to-people ties.

India-Vietnam Trade Relations

Apart from the Defence and security collaboration, both the countries share the trade and commercial ties. Bilateral trade has increased from USD 200 million in 2000 to USD 14.14 billion in 2021-2022. It has increased 27 percent in the fiscal year 2021-2022 alone. India’s exports to Vietnam have also increased by 34 percent whereas Indian imports from Vietnam witnessed an increase of 21 percent.

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