Vietnamese President To Lam’s recent state visit to India marked a defining moment in bilateral relations, culminating in the elevation of ties to an “Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership” and the signing of 13 key Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs). Invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, this was Lam’s first trip to India as president, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the 2016 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and underscored a pragmatic response to shared Indo-Pacific challenges.
Key Agreements Signed
The 13 MoUs spanned digital economy, health, minerals, culture, and governance, formalizing multi-domain collaboration.
Digital and Financial:
- MeitY (India)-MOST (Vietnam) on digital technology cooperation, fostering AI and semiconductor synergies.
- RBI-SBV on payment systems and innovation to streamline cross-border finance.
- NPCI International-NAPAS for QR code-based retail payments, easing remittances and tourism flows.
Health and Pharma: CDSCO-DAVIS on regulatory harmonization for drugs and medical devices, accelerating India’s generic exports.
Critical Minerals: IREL-ITRRE on rare earths exploration, processing, and supply chain security—vital for EVs and renewables.
Culture, Tourism, Education: 2026-2030 Cultural Cooperation Programme; Tourism Ministries MoU; Gyan Bharatam university partnership for knowledge exchange.
Urban/Governance: Ho Chi Minh City-Mumbai twinning for smart city governance; State Audit Office-Comptroller and Auditor General auditing pact.
These pacts underpin a $25 billion trade target by 2030 (from $16.46 billion in FY 2025-26), prioritizing investments, tech transfers, and balanced growth.
Strategic and Defence Pillars
Defence-security emerged as foundational, reaffirming maritime domain awareness, joint exercises, port calls, and co-production amid South China Sea tensions. Commitments expand logistics support under existing frameworks, white shipping data-sharing, and potential 2+2 ministerial dialogues. Vietnam’s alignment with India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) enhances regional resilience.
India’s BrahMos supersonic missile exports to Vietnam, alongside training and naval upgrades, exemplify converging capabilities. This builds on prior deals like AK-203 rifles and offshore patrol vessels, signaling deepening interoperability without overt alliances.
Economic Synergies and Supply Chain Resilience
Critical minerals cooperation directly counters global shortages, with Vietnam’s vast rare earth reserves complementing India’s refining expertise. The IREL-ITRRE MoU enables joint ventures in exploration and value addition, de-risking dependencies on China, which controls 80% of processing. Pharma harmonization via CDSCO-DAVIS could double India’s $1.5 billion exports to Vietnam, while IT pacts spur semiconductor fabs.
Agricultural market access—Indian grapes/pomegranates entering Vietnam; Vietnamese durians/pomelos to India—diversifies agri-trade. Urban twinning between economic hubs like Mumbai and Ho Chi Minh City facilitates best-practice sharing in infrastructure and sustainability. Collectively, these create a resilient economic corridor, aligning with India’s China+1 strategy and Vietnam’s diversification push.
Geopolitical Imperatives
China’s “nine-dash line” assertions in the South China Sea directly threaten Vietnam’s EEZ and indirectly India’s Andaman interests, amplifying the partnership’s urgency. Both nations prioritize rules-based order, with India offering capacity-building over bases—exemplified by Line of Credit extensions for Vietnamese defence modernization.
In-Depth Analysis: Minilateralism in Action
In my assessment, To Lam’s visit represents a masterstroke of India’s Act East Policy evolving into sophisticated minilateralism, positioning Vietnam as New Delhi’s premier ASEAN partner amid Quad dynamics. The $25 billion trade ambition is ambitious yet achievable if FTAs are fast-tracked—current Comprehensive Economic Partnership negotiations must conclude by 2027. Infrastructure linkages, like extending Chabahar Port access to Vietnamese firms, could unlock Mekong-Indian Ocean connectivity.
Rare earth pacts hold transformative potential: Vietnam’s 22 million-tonne deposits, paired with India’s NALCO and HECL facilities, could capture 10-15% of global supply chains by 2030, undercutting Beijing’s monopoly. Defence co-production, potentially BrahMos Mark-III variants, enhances Vietnam’s asymmetric deterrence while opening export markets for India.
Challenges abound. Vietnam’s balancing act—deepening US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and Japan ties—risks diluting focus. Bureaucratic delays in MoU implementation, evident in past Line of Credit disbursals, demand a bilateral oversight mechanism. Geopolitically, avoiding China’s ire requires “de-hyphenation”—framing ties as economic, not anti-Beijing.
Yet, the visit’s multi-domain architecture offers a blueprint for Indo-Pacific stability. By blending hard power (defence), soft power (culture), and smart power (tech-minerals), India-Vietnam exemplifies “strategic autonomy through alliance.” This recalibration fortifies mutual sovereignty, proving resilient partnerships thrive in contested spaces. Sustained high-level engagements, starting with PM Modi’s Hanoi reciprocal, will cement this trajectory.
