A Vietnamese electric vehicle giant, a Southeast Asian ambassador, and a lineup of investors walked into Lucknow — and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made sure they left with a clear pitch. On Friday, September 25, 2026, CM Yogi held discussions with Trinh Minh Manh, Ambassador of Vietnam to India, and a delegation of leading Vietnamese companies, including VinFast, focusing on investment and economic cooperation in textiles, electronics, manufacturing, and technology.

VinFast and Vietnam's business delegation at the UP Trade Show

The meeting was convened on the sidelines of the UP International Trade Show 4.0, Uttar Pradesh's flagship investment outreach platform that has, across multiple editions, sought to connect global capital with the state's industrial corridors. CM Yogi positioned the event as 'an important platform for Vietnamese businesses to explore the opportunities emerging in Uttar Pradesh and forge new partnerships.'

VinFast — Vietnam's most prominent electric vehicle manufacturer and a name with growing global ambitions — was among the companies in the room. While no specific agreements have been confirmed from this meeting, the presence of VinFast alongside the Vietnamese ambassador signals a deliberate push to explore manufacturing and technology linkages in a state that has been aggressively marketing itself as northern India's industrial hub.

Buddhist heritage as diplomatic currency

Beyond the boardroom language of FDI and supply chains, CM Yogi invoked a deeper thread: shared Buddhist heritage. 'India and Vietnam share a rich Buddhist heritage,' he noted, calling for stronger Buddhist circuits and cultural exchanges to deepen people-to-people ties. This is not incidental diplomacy. Uttar Pradesh sits at the heart of the Buddhist pilgrimage trail — home to Sarnath, Kushinagar, and Shravasti — and the Yogi government has consistently used Buddhist tourism as both a soft-power lever and an economic driver for the region.

For Vietnam, a country where Buddhism is deeply woven into national identity, the appeal to shared heritage is a genuine bridge — one that could translate into inbound pilgrim tourism as much as outbound investment.

Act East meets Invest UP

The meeting sits at the intersection of two arcs. At the national level, India's Act East Policy has for over a decade sought to deepen economic and strategic engagement with ASEAN nations; India and Vietnam elevated bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016. At the state level, UP under CM Yogi has run a sustained campaign to reposition itself — from a state historically associated with governance challenges — into a credible manufacturing and investment destination, particularly in textiles and electronics.

When a state government hosts an ambassador and a corporate delegation from Vietnam to discuss sector-specific cooperation, it is also doing something else: conducting its own layer of economic diplomacy, filling in the details that national frameworks leave open. UP is making the case that it is not just India's most populous state — it is India's most investable one.

Whether the conversations at the UP International Trade Show 4.0 translate into signed MOUs or fresh Vietnamese manufacturing presence in the state will be the real test. The pitch has been made, with energy and some strategic elegance. The next move belongs to Hanoi's business community.