New Delhi, May 18 (IANS) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will depart for his two-nation visit to Vietnam and South Korea on Monday to discuss expanding strategic military ties, defence industrial partnerships, and maritime security cooperation to support stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Singh will arrive in Hanoi on Monday to discuss ways to further strengthen the military cooperation with Vietnam.
He will later visit South Korea to discuss the bilateral defence ties.
In a post on X, Singh said, “Today, 18th May, I shall be reaching Hanoi. Looking forward to visiting Vietnam and South Korea this week to further expand the scope of our engagement.”
“I will focus on deepening strategic military cooperation, strengthening defence industrial partnerships, and boosting maritime collaboration, promoting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” he added.
Earlier on May 6, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a meeting with Vietnam’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Gen Phan Van Giang in New Delhi. The talks focused on adding more vigour to the defence cooperation between the two nations.
During the meeting, Singh expressed India’s readiness to further deepen its strategic partnership with Vietnam.
“Had an excellent meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister of Vietnam, Gen Phan Van Giang, in New Delhi. India cherishes the long-standing ties with Vietnam. Our talks focused on adding more vigour to the defence cooperation between India and Vietnam. The recent developments reflect the positive momentum in our engagement. Looking forward to further deepening our strategic partnership,” Singh posted on X.
Vietnamese President To Lam also visited India earlier this month and held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with talks focused on the areas of defence and security, trade and investment, science and technology, development partnership, maritime cooperation, critical and rare earth minerals, space, renewable energy, including atomic energy, culture and people-to-people linkages.
The two leaders agreed to elevate the bilateral ties to an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. They announced a target to expand bilateral trade to USD 25 billion by 2030. Vietnam has joined the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).
–IANS
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