General Secretary, President To Lam's state visit to India: Elevating Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the new era
WVR - On the occasion of General Secretary, President To Lam's state visit to India, Vietnamese Ambassador to India Nguyen Thanh Hai emphasized to The World and Vietnam Report the historical significance of the visit and the highlights of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership over the past 10 years.
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| General Secretary, President To Lam and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi within the framework of the Future Summit and the high-level discussion session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York (USA), September 2024. (Source: VGP) |
Ambassador, could you please share the significance of General Secretary, President To Lam's state visit to India at this time?
The state visit to India (May 5-7) by General Secretary, President To Lam holds great significance.
Firstly, this visit is historically significant, marking the first time a General Secretary, President of Vietnam has made a state visit to India. Notably, the visit takes place shortly after the successful conclusion of the 14th Party Congress and Vietnam's consolidation of key leadership positions.
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| Vietnamese Ambassador to India Nguyen Thanh Hai. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in India) |
This demonstrates Vietnam's high regard for India, a close friend and Comprehensive Strategic Partner. The visit clearly reflects the foreign policy outlined by the 14th Party Congress, which emphasizes independence, self-reliance, resilience, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, multilateralization, and diversification of foreign relations.
Secondly, the visit coincides with the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries (2016-2026). India is one of the first three countries with which Vietnam established a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Over the past 10 years, the relationship between the two countries has deepened significantly, yet there remains substantial potential. As both India and Vietnam are rising strongly and the global and regional situation is undergoing profound changes, the visit provides an opportunity for the leaders of the two countries to not only review the bilateral relationship over the past decade but also to shape cooperation in the new phase.
Thirdly, the visit is an opportunity to further strengthen the relationship between the leaders of the two countries and between the ruling parties. It is also an excellent opportunity to enhance comprehensive connectivity between the ministries, sectors, and localities of the two countries, as well as between businesses operating in various fields, including technology companies, startups, and innovation centers of both countries.
In summary, General Secretary, President To Lam's state visit to India is expected to create new momentum, open up broader cooperation spaces, and elevate the Vietnam-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in the new era, commensurate with the potential and position of the two countries in the region and the world, bringing tangible benefits to the people, localities, and businesses; contributing to the realization of each country's development goals and positively contributing to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and globally.
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| The 15th Vietnam-India Defense Policy Dialogue. (Photo: QT) |
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and India, how does the Ambassador assess the outstanding achievements in bilateral cooperation across all fields?
India is one of the first partners with which Vietnam established a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. After 10 years, the relationship between the two countries has developed comprehensively, substantively, and has deepened, becoming one of the most dynamic and effective cooperation frameworks in the region.
Political cooperation between the two countries has been continuously strengthened, with increased trust. Leaders of the two countries frequently visit each other and meet on the sidelines of international conferences, demonstrating a strong political commitment to the bilateral relationship. Additionally, there are increasing visits between leaders of ministries, sectors, and localities of the two countries. More than 20 cooperation mechanisms between the two countries are contributing to the effective implementation of bilateral cooperation. Many important agreements have been signed and implemented. Notably, the Joint Vision Statement on Peace, Prosperity, and People (December 2020), and action programs to implement the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. In multilateral cooperation, the two sides share many similar views on regional and international issues and coordinate closely at multilateral forums such as the United Nations, ASEAN, and regional cooperation mechanisms.
Defense and security cooperation has been continuously expanded and developed in various substantive forms. The two sides have signed a joint vision statement on Vietnam-India defense partnership until 2030. Cooperation in areas such as training, capacity building, military branch cooperation, joint exercises, and United Nations peacekeeping activities have been effectively implemented.
In the fields of economy, trade, and investment, cooperation between the two countries is increasingly vibrant. Bilateral trade turnover in 2025 reached a record $16.46 billion, up 10.5% compared to 2024 and approximately 2.5 times compared to the time of establishing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016. India is currently among Vietnam's top 8 largest trading partners. In terms of investment, by the end of 2025, India had 473 valid projects in Vietnam with a total registered capital of about $1.1 billion; conversely, Vietnamese enterprises have begun to expand their presence in India with large-scale projects, notably the electric vehicle manufacturing project in Tamil Nadu with an investment plan of up to billions of dollars.
Additionally, cooperation in fields such as science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, energy, and education and training continues to be promoted. Recently, many Vietnamese technology companies and startups have come to India to explore cooperation opportunities. While more and more Vietnamese students are studying in India, many Indian students are also studying in Vietnam, especially at medical universities.
A highlight in recent times is the strong development of people-to-people, cultural, and tourism exchanges. Vietnam is becoming an attractive destination for Indian tourists. In 2025 alone, the number of Indian visitors to Vietnam reached 746,000, an increase of about 50% compared to 2024 and nearly four times compared to 2019. Direct air connectivity between the two countries has increased significantly from a few flights per week after the COVID-19 pandemic to nearly 90 flights per week currently, providing a significant boost to the increase in tourism and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
Overall, these achievements have laid a solid foundation, making the Vietnam-India relationship one of the most profound, effective, and complementary Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships in the region.
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| The Vietnam-India Electronics and Information Technology Business Forum 2026 took place on March 23 in New Delhi. (Source: Vietnamese Embassy in India) |
According to the Ambassador, which areas of cooperation should the two countries prioritize to elevate their relationship in the future?
The foundations laid over the past 10 years of establishing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership have created favourable conditions for the two countries to further develop their relationship in the future. Notably, India's strong rise as a major power, Vietnam's rapid development in recent years, and the shared vision and perspectives of the two countries on many regional and international issues are creating numerous opportunities to enhance cooperation. Besides continuing to consolidate established areas of cooperation, both sides need to strongly promote new areas of cooperation that meet the development needs of each country.
In this regard, both sides need to enhance cooperation in innovation to seize the opportunities presented by the technological revolution and digital transformation, creating strong development drivers, contributing to achieving the goal of making Vietnam a developed country by 2045 and India by 2047. The two sides need to create frameworks and forums on innovation for relevant ministries, sectors, businesses, technology associations, and startups of both countries to strengthen cooperation in breakthrough areas such as high technology, digital transformation, digital economy, green economy, renewable energy, semiconductors, and artificial intelligence.
Additionally, both sides need to continue to strengthen the pillar of economic, trade, and investment cooperation. In this regard, both sides need to take strong measures to expand each other's markets, further increasing bilateral trade turnover commensurate with the size of each country's market and economy. At the same time, there are significant investment opportunities as Vietnamese businesses are rising, and many Indian businesses are interested in Vietnam.
I believe both sides should always prioritize promoting people-to-people, cultural, educational, and tourism exchanges to help consolidate the social foundation, creating long-term, strong ties between the two nations, directly supporting economic and political cooperation. The two countries share many cultural and historical similarities and intersections, especially through Buddhism and cultural heritage, providing favorable conditions for promoting academic, artistic exchanges, and conservation cooperation. The two countries should promote diverse activities such as cultural festivals, film weeks, artistic exchanges, and educational cooperation, thereby contributing to promoting each other's national image, people, and identity. Simultaneously, both sides should increase the number of direct flights. Fortunately, airlines from both Vietnam and India are eager to increase the number of flights.
During General Secretary, President To Lam's state visit to India, both sides will have many opportunities to discuss measures to promote the aforementioned priorities, bringing practical benefits to the people, localities, and businesses, and serving the realization of each country's development goals.
Thank you very much, Ambassador!
