At the invitation of Indian Minister of Ethnic Affairs Jual Oram, from March 17-19, a high-level delegation of the Ministry of Ethnic Affairs and Religions, led by Minister Dao Ngoc Dung, visited, worked bilaterally and attended the Indian Ethnic Minority Festival (Bharat Tribes Fest) 2026 hosted by the Indian Ministry of Ethnic Affairs in New Delhi.
In bilateral working talks with Indian Minister of National Assembly Affairs and Ethnic Minorities Kiren Rijiju, Minister Dao Ngoc Dung affirmed that Vietnam always values ensuring equality for all people, towards the goal of leaving no one behind in the development process.
The Minister respectfully thanked the Government of India, especially Minister Kiren Rijiju personally, for contributing to the success of the 2025 United Nations Vesak Festival in Vietnam, creating conditions for the relics of the Buddha to be revered, attracting about 16 million people to worship.
Emphasizing that 2026 marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam - India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Minister Dao Ngoc Dung said that this is a favorable opportunity for the two sides to promote substantive cooperation.
On that basis, the Minister proposed that the Indian side soon coordinate to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation between the two ministries, focusing on areas such as exchanging experience in managing ethnic minorities, state management and international cooperation...
Indian Minister of National Assembly Affairs and Ethnic Minorities Kiren Rijiju said that India and Vietnam are both dynamically developing economies and have strong traditional friendly relations. He highly appreciated the significance of the two countries upgrading relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership over the past 10 years.
In his position in the Indian Government, he affirmed that he has and will continue to make efforts to promote the realization of cooperation potentials between the two countries, and committed to accelerating the process of signing a cooperation MOU between the two ministries as soon as possible.
Indian Minister of Ethnic Affairs Jual Oram affirmed that Vietnam is a particularly important partner of India in the Asia-Pacific regional vision. He also said that 2026 is an important milestone when the two countries celebrate the 10th anniversary of establishing a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Minister Jual Oram expressed his belief that with common efforts, cooperative relations between the two countries will continue to achieve many positive results, and committed to promoting the early signing of a cooperation MOU between the two ministries.
For his part, Minister Dao Ngoc Dung expressed his thanks to Minister Jual Oram for inviting the Vietnamese delegation to visit India and attend the Bharat Tribes Fest 2026, and highly appreciated the positive cooperation results between the two countries in the past time.
On the same day, Minister Dao Ngoc Dung and Minister Jual Oram opened the Bharat Tribes Fest 2026. This festival (formerly Aadi Mahotsav) was initiated by the Indian Ministry of Ethnic Affairs as a national platform to enhance the role of ethnic minorities.
Minister Dao Ngoc Dung's participation in this festival has clear political - foreign affairs and specialized significance, especially when the two countries are multi-ethnic, multi-religious countries, promoting social solidarity and preserving and promoting cultural identity in sustainable development.
