Defence collaboration is a very important pillar in the India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
In a sign of their growing strategic partnership, India has extended two Lines of Credit (LoC) amounting to USD 300 million to Vietnam to bolster the country's maritime security. The Lines of Credit will be used by Vietnam for Coast Guard ships and for fast border patrol boats.

Agreements in this regard, between Vietnam's Ministry of Finance and the Export-Import Bank of India, were signed in the presence of visiting Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Thursday (August 1, 2024).

Prime Minister Modi had offered the USD 300 million LoC during his visit to Vietnam. The actual identification of the projects that these two lines of credit will be used for has now been completed.

On Thursday, the two Prime Ministers also virtually inaugurated the Army Software Park in the Telecommunications University in Nha Trang, Vietnam, which has been completed under an Indian grant.

Defence collaboration is a very important pillar in the India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

According to the Joint Statement issued after talks between the Prime Ministers, the two leaders commended the effective implementation of the Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030 and strengthening of defence cooperation between the two countries in recent years covering dialogues, training and capacity building cooperation, exchange of best practices, exercises, defence policy and industry cooperation. 

"They agreed to further enhance defence cooperation based on mutual interest and priorities of the two countries which will also contribute to greater stability in the wider Indo-Pacific region," the statement added.

Defence Ministers of the two countries signed the ‘Joint Vision Statement on India - Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030’ in June 2022. During his visit to Vietnam, Defence Minister Singh also handed over 12 High Speed Guard Boats to Vietnam at Hong Ha Shipyard in Hai Phong. The boats were constructed under the Government of India’s USD 100 million Defence Line of Credit to Vietnam.

Last year, in a strong demonstration of the growing defence ties between India and Vietnam, Indian Navy's Missile Corvette INS Kirpan left for the ASEAN nation as a gift from India to the country's naval force. 

During their talks, the two Prime Ministers decided to give a further impetus to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two nations by adopting a new Plan of Action in areas like defence and security, digital payment connectivity, and green energy.

In his press statement after the meeting, Prime Minister Modi also pointed to the convergence in views about the Indo-Pacific, emphasising that India and Vietnam supported evolution, not expansionism.