During the talks, General Giang highlighted the positive progress in Vietnam–India defence ties in recent years, particularly following the signing of the Joint Vision Statement on Vietnam–India Defence Partnership toward 2030 during Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Vietnam in 2022.

According to the Vietnamese defence minister, bilateral cooperation has expanded across multiple areas, including high-level exchanges, dialogue mechanisms, training and education, cooperation among military branches, United Nations peacekeeping operations, defence industry collaboration, military justice and mutual support at international multilateral forums.

Gen. Giang also expressed appreciation to India’s Ministry of Defence for supporting military education and training in Vietnam, including a non-refundable US$1 million grant for the construction of a foreign language classroom at the Air Force Officers’ College, as well as other preferential credit support packages.

Looking ahead, General Phan Van Giang proposed that both sides continue implementing agreed cooperation programmes while focusing on several priority areas. These include maintaining regular high-level exchanges and annual cooperation mechanisms to strengthen political trust and deepen bilateral defence ties.

He also expressed hope that India would continue providing training scholarships for Vietnamese military personnel under the training cooperation document signed in 2024, while considering additional slots in specialised training fields requested by Vietnam’s Ministry of National Defence.

Other proposed areas of cooperation include collaboration between military branches, defence industry development, cybersecurity, military medicine, search and rescue operations and United Nations peacekeeping activities.

General Giang also invited Indian defence leaders and defence industry enterprises to participate in and showcase products at the third Vietnam International Defence Expo scheduled for December 2026.

Discussing regional and international developments, General Giang reaffirmed Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and diversified international relations.

He reiterated Vietnam’s commitment to the “Four No’s” defence policy and stressed that disputes in the East Sea should be resolved through peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Vietnam also expressed support for the early conclusion of an effective and substantive Code of Conduct in the East Sea.

For his part, Indian Defence Minister Singh described Vietnam and India as trusted partners sharing a long-standing friendship, with defence cooperation serving as a key pillar of bilateral relations.

He noted that his visit holds special significance as the two countries mark the 10th anniversary of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Singh praised the strong results achieved in bilateral defence cooperation and expressed hope that both countries would continue expanding cooperation in training, military exchanges and capacity building.

India’s Ministry of Defence is ready to prioritise scholarship programmes and cooperation initiatives for Vietnam, he affirmed.

Following the talks, the two defence ministers attended the inauguration ceremony for the foreign language classroom project at the Air Force Officers’ College funded by the Indian government.

They also witnessed the signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement between Vietnam’s Telecommunications University and India’s Military College of Telecommunication Engineering.

Vietnam and India promote digital economy cooperation, target US$25bln in trade

VOV.VN - A forum on “Vietnam–India Digital Economy and Cross-Border E-Commerce” held in Uttar Pradesh on May 18 is expected to open a new phase of cooperation between Vietnam and India in digital trade, fintech, artificial intelligence, and logistics, as the two countries target US$25 billion in bilateral trade by 2030