India and Vietnam Strengthen Defence and Strategic Ties During Ministerial Meeting in Hanoi on May 20, 2026

Key facts

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and General Phan Van Giang reviewed the bilateral partnership in maritime security, defence industry, training, and regional stability in Hanoi.
• The ministers virtually inaugurated a language lab at the Air Force Officers’ College in Vietnam, which was established with assistance from India.
• An artificial intelligence (AI) lab will be set up at Telecommunications University in Nha Trang, following a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between India’s Military College of Telecommunications Engineering and Vietnam’s Telecommunications University.
• India previously gifted the indigenously built missile corvette INS Kirpan to Vietnam in July 2023 and handed over 12 high-speed guard boats in June 2022.
• The bilateral defence engagement is guided by the Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership Towards 2030 and an MoU on mutual logistics support.