PM Pham Minh Chinh leaves for state visit to India

This is the first state visit to India by Chinh as the head of the Vietnamese government, and the first visit to India by a Vietnamese PM in a decade.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh prepares to fly to India from Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi on July 30, 2024. Photo by Nhat Bac

The visit takes place when the Vietnam-India comprehensive strategic partnership is developing strongly on the foundation of firm relations and high political trust.

Bilateral ties across the party, state, parliamentary, and people-to-people channels have expanded, while defence-security cooperation, a key pillar in bilateral relations, has seen significant progress.

Two-way trade has increased 2.5 times since 2016, reaching nearly US$15 billion in 2023.

Major Indian conglomerates are rolling out cooperation with Vietnam in strategic sectors like renewable energy, processing industry, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, seaport infrastructure, and logistics.

Vietnam’s automaker Vinfast has started construction on a car assembly and production plant in Tamil Nadu state of India, with total committed capital of $2 billion.

The number of Indian visitors to Vietnam shot up 2.5 times over the past four years, from 170,000 in 2019 to 400,000 in 2023.

The two countries have supported each other and promoted cooperation at international and regional forums and organisations, especially the United Nations.

During the visit, PM Chinh and Indian leaders are expected to outline directions for deepening the comprehensive strategic partnership across various fields, particularly trade-investment, renewable energy, processing, green economy, digital economy, pharmaceuticals, infrastructure, logistics, automobile, science-technology, information-communication technology, education-training, culture-tourism, agriculture, and people-to-people exchange.