Two Indian Naval Ships, INS SAHYADRI and INS KADMATT under the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, Rear Admiral Sanjay Bhalla, NM will be making a port call at Ho Chi Minh City Port [Nha Rong Terminal] from 24-26 June 2022. This Ship visit is special, as it coincides with celebrations marking 50 years of Diplomatic relations between India and Vietnam and the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence this year.
INS SAHYADRI
INS KADMATT
2. During the visit, there will be professional interaction between personnel of both the navies, official calls and interaction with dignitaries of the Vietnamese Government. Guided tours for Indian Naval personnel to historic sites in and around Ho Chi Minh City and sports events shall also be conducted. Visits to ship will be organised for friends of India in Ho Chi Minh City. On completion of the harbour phase, both Indian Navy and Vietnam Peoples’ Navy would be undertaking Passage Exercise.
3. India and Vietnam have a civilisational relationship that is two millennia old. India-Vietnam relations have grown stronger in recent years due to a vibrant economic engagement and growing convergence on political, regional, and security issues. The relations between our two countries were elevated to the level of ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership’, during the visit of Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi to Vietnam in September 2016.
4. Both sides attach great importance to the development of bilateral relations and have together, shown commitment to maintaining high level contacts during the challenging times of Covid-19 pandemic. Prime Ministers of the two countries adopted an India-Vietnam Joint Vision for Peace, Prosperity and People during their Virtual summit in December 2020. Most recently, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and General Secretary of Communist Party of Vietnam, His Excellency Nguyen Phu Trong held a telephone talk on 15 April 2022. Earlier, His Excellency Vuong Dinh Hue, Chairman of National Assembly of Vietnam, visited India in December 2021. Hon’ble Speaker of India’s Lok Sabha, Shri Om Birla paid a return visit to Vietnam in April 2022.
5. Bilateral Defence relations form a significant pillar of our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. India’s Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh visited Vietnam from 08-10 June 2022. A Joint Vision Statement for India- Vietnam Defence Cooperation towards 2030 was signed during the visit, which defines the future growth trajectory of our defence partnership over the coming decade. A Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Logistics Support was also concluded, which simplifies procedures to enable efficient logistics support to each other.
6. Defence Industry cooperation is fast emerging as a vital component of our bilateral Defence engagements. The project for the construction of 12 High-Speed Guard Boats for Vietnam Border Guards under the 100 million Dollar Defence Line of Credit extended by the Government of India has been successfully completed. Both sides are also working on the early implementation of the projects under the 500 million Dollar Defence Line of Credit package provided by India. Several Indian Defence companies are actively partnering and participating in executing projects in Vietnam, in line with India’s Vision of “Aatma-Nirbhar Bharat” and “Make in India – Make for the World “.
7. There is growing convergence between India and Vietnam on various regional and international issues. In the emerging geopolitical and geo-economics landscape in the region and beyond, defence and security partnership between India and Vietnam is an important factor of stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Both nations are committed towards achieving a peaceful, stable, secure, free, open, inclusive and rules-based region.
8. Navy-to-navy cooperation is the centre-piece of bilateral Defence partnership and covers a wide spectrum of activities, particularly in the field of training, human resource development, bilateral exercises, repairs, maintenance, and logistics support aimed at capacity building.
9. Ship visits by Navy and Coast Guard Ships to each other’s country have now become a regular feature. A Vietnam People’s Navy Frigate 016 Quang Trung visited India earlier this year in February to participate in the Multilateral Naval Exercise MILAN in Vishakhapatnam, India. The current ship visit to Vietnam is part of these ongoing engagements and seeks to enhance maritime cooperation between the two Navies. It will bolster the strong bonds of friendship between the two countries and contribute to peace, security and stability in the region and the world at large.
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