To advance the defence collaboration between India and Vietnam, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held private talks on monday with General Phan Van Giang, Minister of National Defence of Vietnam.
General Phan Van Giang, the minister of national defence of Vietnam, is visiting India on business from June 18 to 19. During his trip, the minister will also travel to Agra on a cultural excursion.
Earlier in the day, General Phan Van Giang, Minister of National Defence of Vietnam laid a wreath at National War Memorial here.
The two will also exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
India and Vietnam share a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Bilateral defence relations form a significant pillar of this partnership, as per a release issued by the Ministry of Defence.
According to the release, defence engagements between the two nations have diversified to include wide-ranging contacts between the services, military-to-military exchanges, high-level visits, capacity building and training programmes, cooperation in UN Peacekeeping, ship visits and bilateral exercises.
During Rajnath Singh’s visit to Vietnam in June 2022, major overarching guiding documents namely ‘Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030’ and a Memorandum of Understanding on ‘Mutual Logistics Support’ were signed that have significantly enhanced the scope and scale of defence cooperation between both the countries. Meanwhile, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam National Boundary Commission Trinh Duc Hai and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Secretary (East) Saurabh Kumar recently discussed ways to further strengthen India-Vietnam bilateral relations, including in the areas of defence, security, and maritime cooperation.
“Today, Vice Chairman Trinh Duc Hai of the National Boundary Commission of Vietnam was met by Secy (East) @AmbSaurabhKumar. Arindam Bagchi, the official spokesperson for the MEA, tweeted that they “discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral relations, including in the realm of defence, security and maritime cooperation.”