Vietnamese Prime Minister Arrives In India Today To Strengthen Trade, Investment

Prime Minister of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh is set to begin his visit to New Delhi on Monday. This marks his visit as the second head of government to come to India during Prime Minister Modi's third term. His visit comes soon after the death of Nguyen Phu Trong, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

New Delhi: Prime Minister of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh will begin his New Delhi visit today. He is the second head of the government to visit India in PM Modi's third term. The visit comes days after the passing away of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong.

PM Modi condoled the death of Trong in a post on X, "Saddened by the news of the passing away of the Vietnamese leader, General Secretary HE Nguyen Phu Trong. We pay our respects to the departed leader. Extend our deepest condolences and stand in solidarity with the people and leadership of Vietnam in this hour of grief.”

The Vietnamese PM will pay a state visit to India from July 30 to August 1. He is expected to be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including several Ministers, Deputy Ministers and business leaders. On August 1, Prime Minister Chinh will receive a ceremonial welcome at the Forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan after which he will visit Raj Ghat to pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi.

He will hold bilateral discussions with the Prime Minister, who will also host a luncheon in his honour. Prime Minister Chinh is scheduled to call on President Droupadi Murmu and the Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar is expected to call on the visiting Prime Minister.

India and Vietnam have age-old historical and civilizational ties, which were elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the visit of the Prime Minister to Vietnam in September 2016. India considers Vietnam a key pillar of its Act East Policy and an important partner in its Indo-Pacific vision.

India's National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval on Thursday took part in the funeral proceedings of Nguyen Phu Trong, the late General Secretary of Vietnam's Communist Party, in an event attended by thousands of mourners and world leaders.

While attending the state funeral of Nguyen Phu Trong, Doval extended India's condolences to Vietnam President To Lam and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. The NSA was accompanied by the Indian Ambassador to Vietnam at the funeral. He also expressed India’s solidarity with the people and leaders of Vietnam in this time of grief.

This came after Indian leaders in Parliament on July 22 expressed their deepest condolences to the people and leadership of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the passing away of Trong. The Parliament noted that apart from his wise leadership of Vietnam’s progress and development over decades, Trong contributed to India-Vietnam friendship and the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

India-Vietnam trade ties

According to the data published by the Embassy of India in Hanoi, India and Vietnam have long-standing trade and economic relations, which have steadily grown over some time. From a meagre US$200 million in 2000, according to Vietnamese figures, bilateral trade grew to US$ 14.36 billion in 2023. According to Indian data during 2023-2024, bilateral trade reached US$ 14.82 billion, registering an increase of 0.76 per cent year on year.

India's exports to Vietnam reached US$ 5.47 billion (down 7.43%) while Indian imports from Vietnam amounted to 9.34 billion (up 6.26%). In FY 2023-2024, for India, Vietnam is the 21st largest trading partner and 22nd largest export destination globally. For Vietnam, India is the 7th largest trading partner, the 7th biggest importer of Vietnam’s products and the 11th biggest import source of Vietnam.

In FY 2023-2024, key items of exports from India to Vietnam include frozen bovine meat, cereal, iron and steel, cotton, animal fodder and materials, fishery products, electrical equipment, machinery and equipment, aluminium, auto components, chemical and chemical products, ordinary metals, pharmaceuticals and API as well as gems and jewellery.

Key items of imports into India from Vietnam were electronic equipment, telecom equipment, machinery and mechanical appliances, iron and steel, ordinary metals, chemicals and chemical products, articles of plastic, products of steel, footwear and garment, garment and textile materials, auto components, wood and wooden products, rubber and coffee.