India and Vietnam are advancing their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership across defence, trade, and security, with the two nations setting a new bilateral trade target of USD 25 billion by 2030, according to a report by The Secretariat. The momentum was underscored by Vietnamese President To Lam's State Visit to New Delhi in May 2025 — one of his first foreign engagements after assuming the presidency.

Trade and Economic Agenda

The two nations have agreed to facilitate market access across sectors, with particular emphasis on agricultural products. Vietnam has committed to diversifying its import sources and sourcing more goods from India to serve its domestic production and export requirements. Both sides have also pledged to create a more conducive regulatory environment, including improvements in standards compliance certification and ease of doing business for firms from both countries.

Greater two-way investment is being actively encouraged in manufacturing, logistics, renewable energy, smart agriculture, high-technology, electric vehicles, information technology, healthcare, aquaculture, and tourism and hospitality. The two nations have also decided to strengthen linkages between their respective startup ecosystems and foster cooperation among innovation centres.

Defence Cooperation Expands

On the defence front, India and Vietnam have agreed to deepen cooperation across both traditional and emerging domains. Areas of focus include staff talks, joint exercises, defence policy dialogue, joint research and co-development of new defence technologies, increased port calls by naval vessels and Air Force aircraft, peacekeeping activities, hydrography, and defence industrial cooperation. Both governments view this expanded cooperation as a contributor to broader stability across the Indo-Pacific region.

Security and Cybersecurity Priorities

Security cooperation has been elevated to address shared concerns in information sharing, cybersecurity, counter-terrorism, and tackling high-tech crime, transnational crime, money laundering, and online scams. The two nations have agreed to promote training and capacity building for law enforcement officers, including professional training, foreign language training, cybersecurity incident response skills, and support for United Nations Peacekeeping operations.

Significance of To Lam's Visit

The fact that To Lam chose India as a destination within his first month as Vietnam's President is being read as a deliberate signal of the partnership's strategic weight. This comes amid a broader regional recalibration, as both nations navigate a complex Indo-Pacific environment shaped by China's assertiveness and shifting global supply chains. Notably, Vietnam's interest in diversifying supply sources aligns closely with India's own push to position itself as a credible manufacturing and export alternative. How quickly the two sides translate these agreements into verifiable trade and investment flows will determine whether this partnership moves beyond strategic signalling.