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The Prime Minister of Vietnam undertook a State visit to India.

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Outcomes of the Visit include: 

• Plan of Action (2024-2028): Plan of Action announced to implement the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. 
• Line of Credit: India extended a US$ 300 million credit line to enhance Vietnam's maritime security. 
• Cultural Cooperation: A Letter of Intent was signed to conserve and restore the "My Son" World Heritage Site temples. 
• MoUs Signed: Agreements on cooperation in radio and television, and the development of the National Maritime Heritage Complex in Lothal, Gujarat. 
• Other Announcements: 
  • Virtual inauguration of an Army Software Park in Nha Trang, Vietnam. 
  • Vietnam will join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).

India-Vietnam Relations

• Background: India supported Vietnam's independence from France, objected to the US involvement in Vietnam in the 1960s and was one of the first countries to recognise a united Vietnam in 1975 after the war with the US.
• Strategic Partnership: Bilateral relations between the two countries were elevated to a 'Strategic Partnership' in 2007 and a "Comprehensive Strategic Partnership" in 2016. 
  • Their current cooperation is guided by the Joint Vision for Peace, Prosperity and People 2020.
• Economic Cooperation: Bilateral trade stood at US$ 14.82 billion in 2023-2024. 
  • Vietnam is India's 23rd-largest global trade partner and 5th largest among ASEAN countries.
• Defence Cooperation: Defence cooperation is multi-faceted and includes defence dialogues, training, exercises (PASSEX, VINBAX, and MILAN), collaboration in capacity building and Navy and Coast Guard ship visits.
  • In 2022, both countries signed a Joint Vision Statement on Defence Partnership towards 2030 and a Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Logistics Support.
• Integration to supply chains: Partnership with Vietnam can help India participate in building reliable, efficient and resilient regional and global supply chains. 
  • Vietnam's Free trade agreement with European Union has further enhanced its role in the global trade regime.
• Cultural: India and Vietnam share over 2,000 years of cultural and civilizational ties, with a strong connection through their shared Buddhist heritage.

Significance of Vietnam for India

• Geostrategic location: Vietnam's position in the Indo-Pacific is crucial for maintaining secure and stable trade routes. 
• Countering China: India opposes China's claim in Ladakh and Arunachal Pradesh while Vietnam has differences over Chinese claims over the Paracel and the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea (SCS). 
  • Vietnam remains one of the most strident voices in Southeast Asia against China's unilateral actions in the SCS. 
• Energy security: Indian companies have invested in oil and gas exploration projects in the Vietnamese waters in the South China Sea which are extremely rich in hydrocarbon reserves. 
  • A consistent supply of hydrocarbons from Vietnam can help ensure energy security in India.
• Act East Policy: Vietnam is a core partner of India in ASEAN and a critical partner in India's Act East policy and the Indo-Pacific vision. 
• Support for India on international platforms: Vietnam strongly supports India's permanent membership in an expanded UN Security Council. 

Challenges in India-Vietnam relations

• Balancing China: Vietnam, like other neighbors, is cautious of provoking of China, leading to reluctance in deepening military ties with India.
  • Chinese claims over the South China Sea can threaten India's prospects of exploring hydrocarbons in the region. 
• Modest trade: Despite growth in trade with India, overall it remains modest compared to Vietnam's trade with China (around $100 billion); and the U.S. ($142 billion).
• Trade routing from China: Economic Survey 2023-24 noted that the rise in trade through countries such as Mexico and Vietnam are a result of Chinese firms re-routing their supply through these countries.
• Reluctance in Military Deals: Despite India's line of credit for military purchases, Vietnam has been hesitant to use it fully, and has resisted buying the Akash surface-to-air missile.
• Cultural gap: There is a significant cultural, custom and language gap between people from both countries. 

Way ahead

• Enhancing economic cooperation: Promoting joint ventures, enhancing physical and digital connectivity, encouraging e-commerce, upgrading regional trading architecture and mutually providing greater market access etc.
• Bridging Connectivity Gap: The India-Myanmar-Thailand trilateral highway could link up with already existing roads like the one linking Thailand with the Vietnamese port of Da Nang.
• Deepening Cultural cooperation: People-to-people exchanges need to be further strengthened, as there is significant goodwill that the two states can leverage.
• Realising converging interests: India and Vietnam geographically lie at the centre of the Indo-Pacific region. 
  • Both countries would play a major role in this strategic space which is becoming a core theatre of competition for power and influence amongst the major powers.