India and Vietnam to deepen strategic ties during Vietnamese PM's New Delhi visit

New Delhi: Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh will arrive in New Delhi late Tuesday evening on a three-day State Visit which is expected to further strengthen the age-old historical and civilisational ties between the two countries.

The Vietnamese PM will be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including several ministers, deputy ministers and business leaders.

He is scheduled to participate in various programmes and business events on Wednesday and will receive a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan on August 1.

On the same day, Pham Minh Chinh will visit Raj Ghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi and then hold bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi who will also host a luncheon in the honour of the visiting delegation.

Chinh is also scheduled to call on the President Droupadi Murmu and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

"India considers Vietnam as a key pillar of its Act East Policy and an important partner in its Indo-Pacific vision," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Tuesday.

Last week, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval attended the state funeral of Nguyen Phu Trong, the General Secretary of Communist Party of Vietnam who passed away on July 19, in Hanoi on Thursday.

NSA Doval conveyed India's condolences personally to the Vietnamese President To Lam, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and the bereaved family.

During his meeting with NSA Doval on Wednesday, Pham Minh Chinh expressed his "sincere thanks" to the government and people of India for their kind gesture towards late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong by sending high-ranking officials to attend the state funeral and also the Indian Parliament for taking time to commemorate the General Secretary on July 22.

"This demonstrates the affection of close friends, as well as the precious tradition between the two peoples of Vietnam and India," Vietnam's PMO said in a statement after the meeting with NSA Doval.

"Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested that the two countries continue to coordinate to further develop the Vietnam-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and emphasised that cooperation in the fields of science and technology, information and telecommunications, and digital technology are very potential areas that need further attention and promotion," it added.

Recognising late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's "important contributions" to strengthening the Vietnam-India relationship, NSA Doval emphasised that he was an erudite leader and widely respected by people of India.

He also affirmed that the Indian government attaches importance to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and India, and wishes to further deepen the bilateral relationship, especially in traditional areas such as defence and security, trade and investment, as well as expand cooperation in new areas as proposed by Hanoi.

India-Vietnam relations have been on the upswing since the establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Hanoi in 2016.

PM Modi has maintained Vietnam's importance as an important pillar of India's 'Act East' policy and the Indo-Pacific vision, while seeking to enhance the scope of the bilateral relationship - including defence partnership - besides working for expeditious progress on existing initiatives.