On the morning of May 6, following the State-level welcome ceremony jointly hosted by Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi with the highest protocol accorded to a head of state, Party General Secretary and President To Lam held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

PM Narendra Modi warmly welcomed Party General Secretary and President To Lam and the high-level Vietnamese delegation on their State visit to India, while congratulating To Lam on being elected by Vietnam’s 16th National Assembly as State President of Vietnam.

He stressed that To Lam’s visit to India immediately after the successful conclusion of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam and the completion of Vietnam’s State leadership appointments carried profound historic significance, especially as both nations mark the 10th anniversary of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2016-2026).

Expressing sincere thanks for the respectful, warm and friendly reception extended by President Droupadi Murmu, PM Narendra Modi, the Indian Government and people to him and the high-level Vietnamese delegation, the top Vietnamese leader affirmed that Vietnam consistently values and wishes to further strengthen its traditional friendship and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with India, considering it one of the top priorities in Vietnam’s foreign policy of independence, autonomy, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation in the new period.

To Lam congratulated India on its major development achievements and highly valued the leadership role of PM Narendra Modi and the coalition government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party in helping India rise to become the world’s fourth-largest economy and one of the world’s leading science and technology centres. He also expressed confidence that India would successfully realise its goal of becoming a developed country by 2047 with an increasingly important international role and position.

Narendra Modi reaffirmed that India always regards Vietnam as one of the most important partners in its “Act East” policy and expressed confidence that Vietnam would achieve its development goals of becoming a developing country with modern industry and upper-middle-income status by 2030, and a developed, high-income country by 2045.

He stressed that the two countries share common values, visions and aspirations regarding independence, self-reliance and the building of a world order based on international law, providing a foundation for the two sides to stand alongside and support each other while contributing to peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

Upgrading ties, promoting high-quality investment

The two leaders expressed satisfaction with the remarkable progress achieved across multiple areas over the past decade since the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Political trust has continued to strengthen, while defence and security cooperation has deepened and become a strategic pillar. Economic, trade and investment cooperation has continued to expand, with bilateral trade growing steadily each year to more than US$16.4 billion in 2025.

Cultural exchanges and people-to-people connections have remained a bright spot, with increasing numbers of tourists from each country choosing the other as a destination, supported by nearly 90 direct flights linking the two nations.

Party General Secretary and President To Lam stressed that the two countries still possess substantial potential and advantages for expanding cooperation in ways that bring practical benefits to their people and businesses, and proposed that both sides continue creating favourable conditions for businesses to expand their presence in each other’s markets.

On that basis, the two sides consented to elevate ties to an “Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” under the spirit of “Shared Vision, Strategic Convergence, Practical Cooperation”, opening a new stage of development in bilateral ties.

To concretise the Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the two leaders held sincere discussions and agreed on strategic directions to further deepen cooperation across a variety of fields.

Accordingly, host and guest affirmed their determination to further strengthen political trust based on shared visions as the core foundation guiding bilateral ties. They concurred to maintain high-level exchanges and regular contacts while further enhancing the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation mechanisms, including the Vietnam-India Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation.

They highlighted defence and security cooperation as an important pillar and affirmed their intention to expand cooperation in defence industry, security industries, maritime security, cybersecurity, information sharing and counterterrorism. India also pledged to continue supporting Vietnam in defence and security training and capacity building.

In economic, trade and investment cooperation, the two leaders consented to make breakthroughs and strengthen complementarity under the spirit of win-win and mutually beneficial cooperation, particularly in enhancing supply chain and global value chain connectivity.

They aim to raise bilateral trade to US$25 billion by 2030 in a balanced and sustainable manner, while removing trade barriers to facilitate greater market access for each other’s goods.

Party General Secretary and President To Lam affirmed that Vietnam is ready to increase imports from India to diversify production inputs and proposed that India gradually remove regulations related to standards imposed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on Vietnamese goods.

The two sides encouraged high-quality two-way investment and agreed to facilitate major corporations from each country investing in the other through large-scale and symbolic projects, particularly in infrastructure, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals and high technology.

To Lam and Modi also agreed to make science and technology, innovation and digital transformation new drivers for the next phase of bilateral relations.

Both sides will further expand cooperation in core technology sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, information technology, 6G, healthcare, critical mineral exploration and processing, and nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

They also agreed to promote the formation of a collaboration ecosystem among technology enterprises of the two countries, with the aim of establishing joint ventures, research and development centres, and joint innovation centres.

They will strengthen the social foundation of bilateral ties through enhanced cooperation in culture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, while promoting shared cultural, historical and religious values, as well as enhancing aviation connectivity, logistics links and cooperation between localities and economic and technology centres in both countries.

PM Narendra Modi noted that many Vietnamese people travel to India for pilgrimage every year and expressed hope that the two countries would continue stepping up tourism cooperation, while encouraging Vietnamese businesses to expand investment in India’s tourism sector.

Regarding regional and international issues,  To Lam and the host leader reaffirmed their commitment to close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums, especially the United Nations, ASEAN and ASEAN-led mechanisms.

PM Narendra Modi highly valued ASEAN’s central role. The two sides also stressed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight, and resolving disputes through peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

To Lam conveyed greetings from Vietnamese Party and State leaders to PM Narendra Modi and other Indian leaders, while inviting the Indian Government chief to visit Vietnam in the near future. PM Narendra Modi gladly accepted the invitation.

Cooperating together, progressing together and succeeding together

Speaking at a press conference following the talks, Party General Secretary and President To Lam said the two sides had agreed to elevate bilateral relations to an “Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” under the spirit of “Shared Vision, Strategic Convergence, Practical Cooperation”, which would deepen bilateral cooperation across multiple aspects.

First, the two sides agreed to further deepen political trust, intensify high-level exchanges and improve the effectiveness of existing cooperation mechanisms. Second, they affirmed the elevation of defence and security cooperation into a strategic pillar contributing to peace and stability. Third, they pledged to deliver more tangible progress in economic, trade and investment cooperation, strengthen supply chain connectivity, remove barriers and expand market access for each other.

Fourth, the two sides concurred to make science and technology, innovation and digital transformation new drivers for bilateral cooperation, creating new areas of high added value. Fifth, they agreed to strengthen people-to-people exchanges, as well as cultural, educational and religious cooperation, thereby reinforcing a sustainable social foundation for bilateral relations.

For his part, PM Narendra Modi said the “Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” would enable the two countries to support each other in achieving rapid growth together. Citing Buddhist teachings that lighting a candle for others also illuminates one’s own path, he said supporting each other’s visions and aspirations would help both countries realise their shared goal of becoming developed nations, adding that the two sides would cooperate, progress and succeed together.

On the occasion, Party General Secretary and President To Lam and PM Narendra Modi witnessed the signing and exchange of cooperation documents in science and technology, critical minerals, healthcare, tourism and culture, finance, cybersecurity, local-level cooperation and auditing.

The two leaders also consented to direct ministries and sectors to promptly and effectively implement the agreements reached, bringing Vietnam-India relations into a new period of development.

Both sides expressed confidence that with the shared determination of the leaders and people of the two countries, Vietnam-India relations would continue to develop strongly in a deeper and more substantive manner, serving the interests of both peoples while making positive contributions to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

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