Rajnath Singh dials Vietnamese counterpart, accepts invitation to visit Vietnam

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held an online interaction with his Vietnamese counterpart Sr Lt Gen Phan Van Giang on Thursday and confirmed his official visit to Vietnam. During the interaction, both the Defence Ministers reviewed the progress on the current initiatives and expressed commitment to further enhance engagements between the Defence Forces of the two countries under the framework of India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2016) and under the guidance of the Joint Vision for Peace, Prosperity and People signed during the Virtual Summit between the Prime Ministers of the two countries in December 2020.

Both Ministers acknowledged the significance of the Joint Vision Statement of 2015-20 in strengthening defence cooperation engagements between both the countries thus far and looked forward to concluding the Joint Vision Statement of 2021-25 at the earliest opportunity. The Ministers agreed to initiate measures to enhance cooperation in Defence Industry and Technology domain and look forward to greater synergy in effectively deepening bilateral cooperative engagements across the spectrum. Both Ministers expressed satisfaction at the ongoing activities between the two countries despite the limitations imposed by COVID-19.

In a series of tweets, Rajnath Singh termed the relationship between India and Vietnam as strong & effective. He said "India attaches great importance to its bilateral defence cooperation with Vietnam. Both India and Vietnam share a long-standing tradition of helping each other in difficult times. We have achieved substantial progress in defence industry cooperation in recent years.”

Rajnath Singh added that India and Vietnam continue to make forward movement in overcoming the challenges posed by COVID-19. He thanked Sr Lt Gen Phan Van Giangfor for inviting him on an official visit to Vietnam, and he looked forward to it.

In December last year at the India-Vietnam bilateral summit, PM Narendra Modi described Vietnam as an important partner in India's Indo-Pacific vision. At a virtual summit with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, PM Modi said India looks at its ties with Vietnam with a long-term and strategic perspective.

India and Vietnam upgraded their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016 and defence cooperation has been one of the most significant elements in the fast-expanding bilateral ties. Both countries have stakes in the Indo-Pacific and are aiming to explore the potential for further cooperation in the region.

At the East Asia Summit in Bangkok in 2019, PM Modi proposed setting up the Indo-Pacific Ocean's Initiative (IPOI) to conserve and sustainably use the maritime domain and to make meaningful efforts to create a safe and secure maritime domain.