India gifts INS Kirpan missile corvette to Vietnam

On Monday in the nation’s capital, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke with General Phan Van Gang of Vietnam. Both parties expressed satisfaction with the ongoing interactions as the progress on a number of bilateral defence cooperation initiatives was reviewed during the meeting.

Defence Minister Singh announced the gifting of an indigenously-built in-service Missile Corvette INS Kirpan, which will be a milestone in enhancing the capabilities of the Vietnam People’s Navy.

“Both Ministers identified means to enhance existing areas of collaboration, especially in the field of defence industry cooperation, maritime security and multinational cooperation,” an official release by the Ministry of Defence said after the meeting.

In addition, the Vietnamese defence minister visited DRDO headquarters as part of his engagements and discussed methods to improve defence industrial capabilities through collaboration in research and joint manufacturing.

General Phan Van Gang remembered the fallen warriors earlier in the day by laying a wreath at the National War Memorial. The dignitary’s two-day tour to India started on Sunday.

Vietnam is an important partner in India’s Act East Policy and the Indo-Pacific region.

Vietnam’s national defence minister, General Phan Van Giang, is on visit to India from June 18 to 19. While he is there, the minister is taking a cultural vacation to Agra.

General Phan Van Giang, Vietnam’s Minister of National Defence, laid a wreath at this location’s National War Memorial earlier in the day. Additionally, the two talked about global and regional issues of importance.

India and Vietnam have a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. A press release from the Ministry of Defence claims that bilateral defence collaborations are a crucial tenet.

According to the release, defence engagements between the two nations have diversified to include wide-ranging contacts between the services, military-to-military exchanges, high-level visits, capacity building and training programmes, cooperation in UN Peacekeeping, ship visits and bilateral exercises.

During Rajnath Singh’s visit to Vietnam in June 2022, major overarching guiding documents namely ‘Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030’ and a Memorandum of Understanding on ‘Mutual Logistics Support’ were signed that have significantly enhanced the scope and scale of defence cooperation between both the countries.

Meanwhile, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Secretary (East) Saurabh Kumar and Vice Chairman of National Boundary Commission of Vietnam Trinh Duc Hai recently discussed ways to further strengthen India-Vietnam bilateral relations including in the realm of defence, security and maritime cooperation.

“Secy (East) @AmbSaurabhKumar met Vice Chairman Trinh Duc Hai of the National Boundary Commission of Vietnam today. Discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral relations including in the realm of defence, security and maritime cooperation,” MEA Official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted.