On May 19, at the Ministry of National Defense headquarters, General Phan Van Giang, Member of the Politburo, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense, chaired the welcoming ceremony for Indian Minister of National Defense Rajnath Singh to pay an official visit to Vietnam.
After the welcoming ceremony, General Phan Van Giang held talks with Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.
General Phan Van Giang affirmed that the visit to Vietnam this time by the Indian Minister of National Defense is of special significance as the two countries celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and have just upgraded relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Strengthened in the spirit of "Sharing vision, strategic convergence, substantive cooperation" during the State visit to India by General Secretary and President To Lam.
At the same time, he expressed his pleasure to witness the great achievements in the country's development of India, the 4th largest economy in the world with many scientific and technological achievements; increasing role and position in the region and in the international arena.
On this occasion, General Phan Van Giang respectfully invited leaders of the Ministry of National Defense and Indian defense industry enterprises to attend and display products at the 3rd Vietnam International Defense Exhibition, scheduled to take place in December 2026, contributing to the overall success of the event.
At the talks, the two sides exchanged views on the world and regional situation. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense Phan Van Giang affirmed that Vietnam consistently adheres to the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, multilateralization, and diversification of foreign relations; is ready to cooperate with countries and international organizations for peace, cooperation and development; firmly adheres to the "four no" defense policy (which are: Not participating in military alliances; not associating with one country to oppose another; not allowing foreign countries to establish military bases or use territory against another country; not using force or threatening to use force in international relations); advocates resolving all disputes and disagreements in the East Sea by peaceful means, on the basis of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; and wishes to soon conclude negotiations and sign a Code of Conduct of the parties in the East Sea that is substantive, effective, and efficient.
On behalf of the delegation, thanking for the solemn reception of General Phan Van Giang and the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense, Indian Minister of National Defense Rajnath Singh expressed his honor that the official visit to Vietnam took place right on the occasion of the 136th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh's birth - a great leader with a long-term vision and loved and admired by the Indian people.
Minister Rajnath Singh expressed his hope that in the coming time, the two sides will continue to coordinate and effectively implement the agreed cooperation contents, focusing on delegation exchanges at all levels, training cooperation, capacity building, and cooperation between military branches and services; affirming that the Indian Ministry of Defense is always ready to cooperate and provide the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense with training scholarships, thereby contributing to promoting bilateral defense cooperation to become increasingly practical, effective, and in-depth, commensurate with the Vietnam - India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
At the end of the talks, General Phan Van Giang and Minister Rajnath Singh cut the ribbon to inaugurate the foreign language classroom of the Air Force Officer School (Air Defense - Air Force Service) supported by the Government of India and witnessed the signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement between Vietnam University of Information and Communications and Indian University of Military Information and Communication Technology.
