Vietnam defence minister to arrive in New Delhi this week

New Delhi: Vietnam Minister of National Defence, General Phan Van Giang will arrive in India this week on a three day official visit. During the visit, he will hold bilateral talks with defence minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on June 19, 2023. 

For India, Vietnam is an important pillar of its Act East Asia policy. The visit holds significance as Vietnam has become an important partner in India's Act East policy and the Indo-Pacific vision. An important country of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Vietnam 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. The two countries are boosting their maritime security cooperation in the last few years to protect common interests.

The relations between the two countries were elevated to the level of a "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, the bilateral relations were further elevated to a "comprehensive strategic partnership"

In June last year, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Vietnam with an aim to further further consolidate bilateral defence ties as well as the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.  

Singh also hand over over 12 high-speed guard boats to Vietnam during the three-day visit that were built with Indian assistance.

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