(VOVWORLD) - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh left Hanoi on Tuesday evening for a state visit to India from Tuesday to Thursday at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
 Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (File photo) |
This is the first visit by a Vietnamese PM to India since the two countries established a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016. PM Chinh is also one of the first foreign leaders to visit India after the country held Lower House elections and formed a new government. The visit coincides with the 70th anniversary of the signing of the 1954 Geneva Agreement, which was made possible thanks partly to the significant support of India.
The visit takes place when the Vietnam-India comprehensive strategic partnership is growing strongly on the foundation of firm relations and high political trust. Bilateral ties across party, state, parliamentary, and people-to-people channels have expanded, while defense-security cooperation, a key pillar in bilateral relations, has seen significant progress. Two-way trade has increased 2.5 times since 2016, reaching nearly 15 billion USD in 2023.
Major Indian conglomerates are rolling out cooperation with Vietnam in strategic sectors like renewable energy, processing, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, seaport infrastructure, and logistics. Meanwhile, Vietnam’s automaker Vinfast has started construction on a car assembly and production plant in Tamil Nadu state of India, with total committed capital of 2 billion USD.
The number of Indian visitors to Vietnam shot up 2.5 times over the past four years, from 170,000 in 2019 to 400,000 in 2023.
PM Chinh’s visit reaffirms Vietnam’s consistent policy of treasuring the traditional friendship and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with India and will focus on reinforcing cooperation in traditional areas and other areas such as electronics, telecommunications, biotechnology, AI, and semiconductors.
Both sides will also discuss security and strategic issues in the region and the world and reiterate mutual support in multilateral forums of shared interest.