On January 12, 2021, 13th India-Vietnam Defence Security Dialogue was held virtually. Dr Ajay Kumar, Defence Secretary, Government of India & Lt Gen Nguyen Chi Vinh, Deputy Defence Minister, Socialist Republic of Vietnam co-chaired the meeting.
i.During the meeting, both sides exchanged their views on a plan of action that emerged from the Virtual Summit between Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi & Prime Minister of Vietnam, Nguyen Xuan Phuc in December, 2020.
- During the virtual summit, both countries had signed 7 MoUs (Memorandum of Understandings).
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ii.Both the sides,
- Discussed New areas of Defence Cooperation
- Reviewed progress on Bilateral Defence cooperation initiatives
- Expressed commitment to elevate engagements between the Armed  Forces of both countries under the framework of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
- Reviewed the progress made in Defence Industry and Technology cooperation and agreed for greater cooperation in the field.
iii.The Bilateral Trade between India & Vietnam touched USD 12.3 Billion in the Financial Year 2019-2020.
- Vietnam is India’s key Partner in the Indo-Pacific initiative
- Defence Cooperation is one of the main pillars of cooperation between the two sides
- Vietnam has expressed interest in acquiring India’s Akash Air Defence System, Dhruv helicopters & BrahMos.
- Vietnam also has maritime border issues with China in the South China Sea.
Recent Related News:
i.On December 21, 2020, the India-Vietnam Virtual Summit 2020 held which was co-chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Xuan Phuc.
About Vietnam:
Prime Minister – Nguyen Xuan Phuc
Capital– Hanoi
Currency– Vietnamese dong
