Embassy of India
Hanoi
***

 India – Viet Nam relations

India and Viet Nam share traditionally close and warm bilateral relations that are denominated as Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP). 

2. 2. Mahatma Gandhi and President Ho Chi Minh, who led people in their struggle for independence in their respective countries, had exchanged messages with each other. India was the Co-Chairman of the International Commission for Supervision and Control formed pursuant to the Geneva Accord of 1954. India initially maintained Consulate-level relations with the then Democratic Republic of Viet Nam and South Viet Nam, and later established full diplomatic relations with Viet Nam on 7 January 1972. These multi-faceted relations have been developing steadily over time.

3. 3. India-Viet Nam relations were elevated in 2016 to CSP during the visit of the Prime Minister of India to Viet Nam; earlier, the relations were designated as ‘Strategic Partnership’. India-Viet Nam relations are guided by the Joint Statement for Strengthening the CSP and a Plan of Action for implementation of the CSP 2024-2028, adopted by Prime Ministers of the two countries in New Delhi in August 2024, during the State Visit of the then Prime Minister of Viet Nam. 2026 marks the historic milestone of the 10 years of this CSP.
   
   
4. I.Political Exchanges
   
   
5. 4. Regular interactions at the leaders-level have been a hallmark of the India-Viet Nam relationship. A compilation of high-level visits between the two countries is placed below. The last high-level visit from Viet Nam to India was undertaken by the then Prime Minister H. E. Mr. Pham Minh Chinh from 30 July-1 August 2024. The leadership from both sides have also met on sidelines of international gatherings. Some recent interactions include during the ASEAN Summit in October 2024 in Lao PDR, UNGA in September 2024 in New York, BRICS Summit in July 2025 in Brazil, SCO Summit in September 2025 in China and the G20 Summit in November 2025 in South Africa. The last visit of the State President of Viet Nam to India was undertaken in March 2018 by H. E. Mr. Tran Dai Quang. 
   
   
6. 5. Interactions are also regularly held at Ministerial levels. External Affairs Minister (EAM) of Indian visited Viet Nam in October 2023 to attend the bilateral Joint Commission Meeting (JCM). Both, EAM and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam have met on the sidelines of ASEAN Summit in Malaysia in October 2025. The Defence Minister of India visited Viet Nam in June 2022, followed by a return visit of the Minister of National Defence of Viet Nam to India in June 2023. In 2025, Minister for Minority Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs of India visited Ho Chi Minh City from 02-06 May to accompany the Sacred Relics of Lord Buddha for expositions in Viet Nam. National Security Adviser (NSA) of India visited Viet Nam from 24-25 July 2024 to attend the State funeral of Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.
   
   
7. II. Institutional mechanisms
   
   
8. 6. The India-Viet Nam Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) on Economic, Trade, Scientific and Technological Cooperation is co-chaired by the EAM of India and the Foreign Minister of Viet Nam. The last JCM (18th) was held in October 2023 in Hanoi.
   
   
9. 7. The Foreign Office Consultations (FoC) and Strategic Dialogue (SD) at Secretary-level provide key frameworks for bilateral review encompassing wide-ranging cooperation between the two countries. Last such FoC (13th) and Dialogue (10th) were held in New Delhi in June 2025. 
   
   
10. 8. A Bilateral Security Dialogue is also held between the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) of India and the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) of Viet Nam. The 3rd round of such dialogue was held in December 2024 in Hanoi, led by Deputy NSA of India and Viet Nam’s Deputy Minister of Public Security.
    
    
11. 9. Other mechanisms include the India-Viet Nam Joint Sub-Commission on Trade, the 5th meeting been held in New Delhi in August 2023, the Defence Secretary-level Annual Defence Policy Dialogue (DPD), the 15th been held in November 2025 in Hanoi, the India-Viet Nam Maritime Security Dialogue, the 4th been held in August 2024 in Hanoi, the Policy Planning Dialogue, the 4th been held in March 2025 in Hanoi, the India-Viet Nam Joint Committee Meeting on Atomic Energy Cooperation, the 4th been held in Mumbai in May 2025. In January 2026, both sides also held the inaugural Cyber Policy Dialogue in Hanoi. 
    
    
12. 10. Parliamentary exchanges are also held between the two sides under the Cooperation Agreement between the Lok Sabha and Viet Nam’s National Assembly since December 2016. Chairman of the National Assembly of Viet Nam visited India in December 2021 and Speaker of Lok Sabha visited Viet Nam in April 2022. Both sides also hold regular interactions at Parliamentary Friendship Groups’ level.

 III. Trade, Economic and Development Cooperation 

11. 11. In 2025-2026, India-Viet Nam bilateral trade crossed USD 16 billion (more than 10% increase year-on-year), wherein, India’s export to Viet Nam accounted to approx. USD 6.11 billion while Viet Nam’s exports to India were approx. USD 10.35 billion. 

12. 12. Main Indian exports to Viet Nam include engineering goods (automobile parts, iron & steel, machinery & equipment), agricultural items (maize, animal feed ingredients, bovine meat, cotton), marine products, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, minerals etc. India’s imports from Viet Nam mainly comprise of electrical and electronic equipment, machinery and mechanical appliances, inorganic chemicals, plastic, copper and rubber, coffee and tea, spices, iron and steel articles, footwear, garments, etc. 

13. 13. Both sides take consistent efforts to expand the trade and commercial linkages further. Regular exchange of business delegations, participation in trade fairs and exhibitions and business meets also support trade and business ties between the two countries. There are several Joint Working Groups (JWG) to enhance this relationship. These include JWG on Agriculture, Health, and Information Technology. In addition, the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) of 2009 is currently under review among ASEAN countries and India.
    
    
14. IV. Development Partnership
    
    
15. 14. India has been a reliable and trusted development partner of Viet Nam. Bilateral cooperation in this domain has made positive contributions towards training, capacity building, socio-economic & skill development. About 200 Vietnamese nationals attend ITEC and ICCR training and educational courses in India, annually. Vietnamese professionals have participated in India’s Global South Young Diplomats’ Forum, Professional Course for Foreign Diplomats, Disarmament & International Security Affairs (D&ISA) Fellowship programmes, the ASEAN-India Media Exchange Programme and the ASEAN-India Youth Summit.
    
    
16. 15. Viet Nam is also a partner country within the ASEAN framework and Mekong Ganga Cooperation mechanism such as training and Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) for local communities across Viet Nam. These QIPs, carried in several provinces of Viet Nam since 2017, have positively impacted lives of the citizens in those provinces at grassroots level.
    
    
17. 16. As per Viet Nam’s requirements and priorities, this development partnership has adapted towards sharing of best practices/experiences, technical training, defence capacity building and heritage conservation. India is also providing assistance for conservation and restoration of the UNESCO world heritage site of My Son in Central Viet Nam by the Archaeological Survey of India. Some of the development partnership projects include:
    
    

      (i). Centre for Excellence in Software Development & Training at the Post and Telegraph Institute of Technology, Ho Chi Minh City, set-up in November 2024;

      (ii). Establishment of an Army Software Park (ASP) at the Telecommunications University, Nha Trang, in August 2024;

      (iii). Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute in Can Tho (1980s);

      (iv). Nuclear Science Centre at Da Lat;

      (v). Advanced Resource Centre in ICT in Hanoi (2011); and

      (vi). Hi-Tech Cyber Forensic Laboratory in Hanoi (2017).

1. 17. Development Partnership of India and Viet Nam also comprise timely disaster relief and humanitarian assistance. In September 2024, in view of devastation caused by Typhoon Yagi, GoI, under Operation Sadbhav (Goodwill), delivered 35 tons of emergency relief supplies to the Government of Viet Nam in a gesture of support to communities.
   
   
2. V. Defence Cooperation
   
   
3. 18. Defence & security cooperation is one of the central pillars of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and Viet Nam. This cooperation is guided by the MoU on Defence Cooperation of 2009 and the Joint Vision on Defence Cooperation of 2015. In June 2022, the two sides also agreed upon a ‘Joint Vision Statement on India-Viet Nam Defence Partnership towards 2030’ and signed an MoU on Mutual Logistics Support. 
   
   
4. 19. Bilateral defence engagement has also diversified to wider military-to-military dialogue and capacity building & training among all arms of the forces. Both sides have also taken steps to strengthen the Defence Industry Cooperation between India and Viet Nam by signing a Letter of Intent in November 2025. In July 2023, India gifted an indigenously built missile corvette INS Kirpan to Viet Nam. Earlier, 12 high speed guard boats, built by Indian manufacturer M/s Larsen & Toubro under bilateral line of credit of USD 100 million were handed over to Viet Nam in June 2022. Two more Lines of Credit of USD 120 million and USD 180 million have been signed between the EXIM Bank of India and the Finance Ministry of Viet Nam in July 2024, and are being undertaken, currently. 
   
   
5. 20. Armed forces from both sides also interact with each other during maritime and peacekeeping exercise. The last edition (6th) of the India-Viet Nam peacekeeping Exercise VINBAX was held in Vietnam in November-December 2025. Navies from both sides also undertake regular OTRs at each other’s ports.
   
   
6. VI. Cultural, Academic and Provincial Level Cooperation
   
   
7. 21. The Swami Vivekananda Cultural Centre (SVCC) under ICCR was established in Hanoi in September 2016. The Centre organizes cultural programmes, seminars, photo exhibitions, film screenings, lectures, workshops in varied areas such as Yoga, Indian classical dance, Hindi Language, art and philosophy, languages, traditional medicine, shared Buddhist and Cham heritage etc.
   
   
8. 22. two countries also have regular exchanges at the level of provinces, academic and think-tank institutions, cultural troupes and youth delegations. Some recent exchanges between India and Viet Nam included the visits of delegations from Ninh Binh Province, Lao Cai province Yen Bai Province, etc.
   
   
9. 23. Several think tanks from India and Viet Nam have had a long history of bilateral cooperation. The Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) of India and the Viet Nam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) held the 5th annual dialogue in Hanoi in September 2024. The Embassy also collaborates with the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA) and VASS to organize conferences / events of mutual importance.
   
   
10. 24. Yoga is popular in Viet Nam with hundreds of yoga clubs across the country, many with Indian yoga instructors. Viet Nam Yoga Federation has representation in numerous provinces in Viet Nam. In 2025, International Day of Yoga was marked in the erstwhile 35 provinces/cities throughout Viet Nam with notable public participation. 
    
    
11. 25. Buddhism is another strong people-level connection. In 2025, people to people connect of the two countries was rejuvenated through a spiritual Exposition of the Holy Relics of Lord Buddha at nine provinces across Viet Nam between 02 May to 02 June 2025. The Holy Relics were visited by more than 15 million devotees of Viet Nam. The exposition coincided with celebration of the UN Day of Vesak hosted by Viet Nam from 6-8 May 2025.
    
    
12. 26. Currently, there are around 90 direct flights operating every week between cities of India and Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. A simplified visa regime offering e-Visa in both direction supports travel and tourism for leisure, business and culture. Tourism promotion efforts include familiarization visits for travel operators, participation in travel mart, dissemination of information about India tourism and engagement with travel operators and other stakeholders.

 VII. Indian Community in Viet Nam

1. 27. Nearly 8,000 Indian nationals constitute the Indian community in Viet Nam. Most of the community members are professionals employed in businesses, sectors such as IT, hotels/restaurants, mining, yoga institutions, civil aviation enterprises, schools, investments, and trading in wide-ranging goods. 

[April 2026]

Compilation of high-level visits between India and Viet Nam