Vietnam President in India: Vietnam President To Lam accorded ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan, meets PM Modi

India’s relation with Vietnam is a partnership that does not aim at any other country in the Indo-Pacific region, said senior officials on Wednesday (May 6, 2026).

The remarks came soon after India welcomed General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam’s Central Committee To Lam, who is also the current Vietnamese President. During a bilateral discussion at the Hyderabad House between Mr. Lam and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two sides elevated the bilateral relation to the level of “enhanced comprehensive strategic partnership” and signed at least thirteen documents, including one on cooperation in critical minerals.

“Vietnam is a major pillar of India’s Act East Policy and Vision MAHASAGAR. We have a common outlook in the field of Indo-Pacific. With our strengthening ties in the field of defence and security, we are helping rule of law, peace, stability and prosperity. India will expand ties with ASEAN through its relation with Vietnam,” said Prime Minister Modi, welcoming Mr. Lam. Mr. Modi said India-Vietnam trade has touched $16 billion and added this figure would touch $25 billion by 2030.

One of the senior-most Vietnamese political figures, Mr. Lam was elected as the State President of Vietnam on May 22, 2024. On August 3, 2024, the 69-year-old politician was elected as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, and on January 23, 2026, he was re-elected as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee. This was followed by his re-election as the State President of Vietnam on April 7, 2026, for a five-year term.

Delivering a speech at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) after being hosted at the Hyderabad House by Mr. Modi, Mr. Lam referred to India’s support to Vietnam’s liberation and said, “We will never forget that Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was the first foreign leader to visit Vietnam in 1954, just one week after the liberation of Hanoi.”

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PTI

In a joint statement issued after the talks, the two sides welcomed the steady progress in the implementation of the defence Lines of Credit (LoC) extended by India to Vietnam, acknowledging that the LoC helped “Vietnam’s defence capabilities” and advanced bilateral defence cooperation.

The leaders also expressed satisfaction over the “implementation of the bilateral defence agreements, including Mutual Logistics Support Agreement, MoU on Submarine Search and Rescue Support and Cooperation, and Letter of Intent on Strengthening Defence Industrial Cooperation”.

The Ministry of Public Security in Vietnam also firmed up plans to enhance work with the National Security Council Secretariat of India. The Ministry of Public Security has close ties with Mr. Lam as he served as the Deputy Minister of Public Security as well as the Minister of Public Security between 2016 and 2024.

The visiting side also sealed thirteen documents with India, including an MoU between the Reserve Bank of India and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) on cooperation in the area of Payment Systems and innovation in digital payments as well as an MoU on radioactive and rare earth minerals.