Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh concludes his state visit to India.

Both sides agreed that Vietnam and India share high political trust; similar cultures and civilizations, and common ideals; complementary economies; a shared aspiration to build strong and prosperous nations; and significant potential for cooperation that needs to be further promoted to align with the general trends of the times, as well as to serve the legitimate rights and interests of the people and achieve the development goals of each country.

“We reaffirmed the priority and importance that Vietnam and India place on each other in their foreign policies; we agreed to continue to cherish, preserve, strengthen, and enhance the traditional relationship between Vietnam and India as sincere, trustworthy, and loyal friends, standing side by side throughout history, in the present, and in the future; and to strive to find breakthroughs to elevate bilateral relations to a new level, strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries in the new phase, for the prosperity and strength of each country, and for the material and spiritual well-being of the people of both countries,” Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh shared with the press after his meeting with Prime Minister Modi.

During these meetings, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Indian friends frequently reiterated the close cultural and religious exchange between Vietnam and India spanning thousands of years, leaving profound imprints on the spiritual life of the people. Accordingly, Buddhism has become an inseparable part of Vietnamese culture, and world heritage sites such as the My Son Sanctuary (Quang Nam)... remain to this day.

Beyond their shared and profound cultural values, Vietnam and India are united by empathy, support, and a common vision on their shared path to independence, freedom, and happiness. President Ho Chi Minh and Indian leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, along with successive generations of leaders and people from both countries, have diligently nurtured the strong traditional and friendly relationship between the two nations.

In 1946, President Ho Chi Minh sent a congratulatory telegram to the first free Indian government. In 1954, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was the first world leader to visit Vietnam, immediately after the liberation of Hanoi.

Throughout history, the friendly and cooperative relationship between Vietnam and India has continuously developed comprehensively and substantively. India was one of Vietnam's first three Strategic Partners (2007). The establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership framework between the two countries (2016) was a historic milestone, creating strong momentum for expanding and deepening relations between the two countries in various fields.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stated that, in the context of today's rapidly changing and complex world, the two countries need to strongly promote the traditional friendly and solidarity relations between them, and foster closer and more effective cooperation to jointly achieve new strategic goals.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi affirmed that Vietnam is a strong pillar in India's Look East policy and a key partner in India's Indo-Pacific vision. He stated that India's development vision to become a developed country by 2047, commemorating 100 years of independence, and Vietnam's development goal to become a developed country by 2045, commemorating 100 years of National Day, will open up new channels of cooperation beneficial to both countries.

"Placing Vietnam in a crucial position, as a 'focal point' and 'bridge' in the 'Act East' policy, has contributed to promoting Vietnam-India relations in general and economic relations in particular to a new level," Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assessed. The Prime Minister stated that Vietnam strongly supports India's Look East policy and its increasingly important role in key regional and global cooperation institutions.

In particular, during this visit, the strong solidarity and profound friendship between the two countries were further affirmed through the condolences that the leaders and people of India extended to the Party, State, Government, and people of Vietnam following the passing of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong.

As a great and close friend of the Indian people, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong paid a State visit to India in 2012; witnessed the upgrading of the two countries to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016; and welcomed and worked with many Indian leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Indian Parliament observed a period of mourning, and the Indian Government sent its National Security Advisor to Vietnam to pay respects to General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. During the visit, Prime Minister Modi, on behalf of 1.4 billion Indian citizens and in his personal capacity, extended his deepest condolences to the nation and people of Vietnam for their immense loss.

Strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership on the basis of "Five More Years"

Building on the solid foundation of 52 years of bilateral relations, and in the context of the new strengths and positions of both countries, as well as the rapid changes in the regional and global situation, the leaders of the two countries affirmed their determination to strengthen and deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and India in the coming years, meeting the legitimate aspirations and interests of the people of both countries.

Accordingly, the two sides further strengthened relations in traditional areas such as defense and security, trade and investment, culture and education, and expanded cooperation into new areas such as the green economy, digital economy, circular economy, sharing economy, and knowledge economy. They also increased bilateral trade and investment, and promoted and deepened cooperation in science and technology. The visit also affirmed that Vietnam and India always support each other and are ready to cooperate and work together to build peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.

The two sides issued a Joint Statement on Strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and signed nine documents in the fields of diplomacy, defense, finance, health, culture, tourism, and human resource training, including the Action Program for implementing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the period 2024-2028.

In particular, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, together with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Indian leaders, agreed to strengthen cooperation in the spirit of "Five Mores," specifically:

Firstly, there is a higher level of political and strategic trust. Leaders of both countries affirmed the importance of further strengthening exchanges of delegations and contacts through Party, Parliament, Government, and local channels, continuing the VIP program between the two sides; and enhancing the effectiveness of cooperation mechanisms. Vietnam's announcement of membership in the Disaster Resilience Infrastructure Alliance (CDRI) and its affirmation of soon completing procedures to join the International Solar Alliance (ISA), two of India's important global initiatives, have contributed to strengthening trust between the two countries.

Secondly, deeper defense and security cooperation will be achieved through the effective implementation of the Joint Statement on Vietnam-India Defense Partnership until 2030, expanding cooperation in maritime security, cybersecurity, and counter-terrorism. The signing of the defense credit package by both sides was a breakthrough during the visit.

Thirdly, economic, trade, and investment cooperation should be more substantive, effective, and groundbreaking . Both sides aim for bilateral trade turnover to reach US$20 billion, doubling bilateral investment by 2030. Vietnam has proposed that India address trade barriers, sign an E-commerce Agreement, and a Bilateral Trade Agreement to maximize the retail market in line with new trends, promoting Vietnamese products with competitive advantages to India's large and potential market such as electronics, textiles, and agricultural products; and attracting large Indian corporations to invest in Vietnam in infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, and energy sectors. On this occasion, businesses from both countries signed six major contracts related to aviation, airports, and logistics.

Fourth, cooperation in science and technology and innovation will be broadened. Accordingly, both sides agreed to promote cooperation in research and development (R&D) and innovation in core technologies, semiconductor chips, artificial intelligence, cooperation in atomic energy and rare earth elements, expanding cooperation in petrochemicals and new energy fields, promoting the establishment of joint ventures to produce information technology products, and cooperating in training information technology engineers to meet the development needs of this industry.

Fifth, cultural cooperation, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges will be more closely connected. Both sides agreed to soon sign a cooperation agreement on tourism, striving to achieve the goal of doubling the number of tourists compared to the current level of approximately 400,000 visitors per year, continuing cooperation in restoring and preserving the Cham Tower heritage in My Son, Quang Nam, and further diversifying forms of people-to-people exchanges.

To concretize the "Five More" direction, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed five priority directions, which include: consolidating and further strengthening strategic trust; renewing traditional growth drivers and promoting new growth drivers, bringing economic, trade, and investment cooperation to a level commensurate with the relationship's stature; promoting multilateral cooperation, upholding international law, and realizing the vision of peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the seas and oceans; proactively contributing to responding to global challenges; and jointly making cultural cooperation, education and training, local connectivity, people-to-people exchanges, and tourism endogenous resources and drivers for the sustainable development of both countries.

Promoting multi-billion dollar investment projects.

A key highlight of the visit was the Prime Minister's activities aimed at promoting strong investment from Indian businesses, building on the foundation of good political and diplomatic relations to form and implement specific, feasible, and effective projects that bring practical benefits to both sides.

The Prime Minister met with leaders of leading Indian corporations in sectors such as Adani (India's largest corporation specializing in infrastructure and energy), SMS Pharmaceuticals (one of India's largest pharmaceutical manufacturers), BDR (India's largest manufacturer of cancer treatment products), the National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation (with the mission of building industrial corridors to revolutionize manufacturing, making the country a global manufacturing hub, a manufacturing powerhouse, and developing a $1 trillion digital economy by 2026), ONGC (India's largest crude oil and natural gas corporation), and HCL Information Technology Corporation…

Many large Indian corporations have identified Vietnam as a strategic investment destination and aspire to become strategic investors in Vietnam. For example, the leaders of Adani affirmed their commitment and determination to invest in Vietnam with proposed projects totaling approximately US$10 billion, including Lien Chieu Port in Da Nang (over US$2 billion), Vinh Tan 3 Thermal Power Plant (approximately US$2.8 billion), Long Thanh Airport Phase 2, and Chu Lai Airport…

SMS Pharmaceuticals has also established a joint venture with a Vietnamese company to propose the development of a high-tech pharmaceutical industrial park in the Nghi Son economic zone (Thanh Hoa province), aiming to attract a total investment of approximately 4-5 billion USD over the next 10 years.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh encouraged large corporations and tech billionaires from India to invest in Vietnam, creating large-scale projects that would symbolize economic cooperation between the two countries, attracting supply chain shifts and helping both countries better participate in global supply chains.

The encouraged sectors include strategic transportation infrastructure, new technologies, core technologies, digital transformation, semiconductors, green transition (hydrogen), renewable energy, biotechnology, etc.

In particular, the Prime Minister strongly encouraged cooperation and investment from Indian pharmaceutical corporations, especially in the production of vaccines and drugs for treating incurable diseases. According to the Prime Minister, Vietnam has great potential in medicinal herbs while India has a strong advantage in the pharmaceutical industry.

While emphasizing that investing in Vietnam's pharmaceutical industry is a smart choice, the Prime Minister stressed that the important thing is to "do what has been said, to fulfill commitments, and to produce concrete results." This means creating high-quality products that sell well, contributing to protecting people's health, and simultaneously transferring technology, training high-quality human resources, contributing to policy improvement, and helping to form a development ecosystem for the pharmaceutical industry in Vietnam based on "harmonious benefits, shared risks," and "working together, sharing the benefits, winning together, and developing together" among all stakeholders.

Prime Minister Modi affirmed that Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit opened a new chapter in relations between the two sides. According to Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit has become a powerful catalyst, affirming the high determination of the leaders of both countries to bring bilateral relations into a new phase that is stronger, more practical and effective, with deeper trust and more opportunities.

Building upon shared values ​​of solidarity, friendship, deep trust, and the achievements of past cooperation, both sides firmly believe in the bright prospects of bilateral relations. The Vietnam-India relationship will continue to "flourish under a peaceful sky," as President Ho Chi Minh said during his first visit to India in 1958, making positive contributions to peace, cooperation, and sustainable development in the Indian Ocean, Asia-Pacific, and the world.