Crew members of Indian Navy guided missile destroyer INS Delhi are welcomed at Đà Nẵng City's Tiên Sa Port for the friendly three-day visit. — VNS Photo Công Thành

ĐÀ NẴNG – Three Indian Navy ships – guided missile destroyer INS Delhi, anti-submarine warfare corvette INS Kiltan and fleet tanker INS Shakti – began a courtesy visit to the central city of Đà Nẵng on Thursday, exchanging friendship ties ahead of the 10th anniversary of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries in 2026.

Led by Rear Admiral Susheel Menon, the Indian Navy ships received a warm welcome at the city’s Tiên Sa Port from representatives of the Việt Nam People's Navy Region 3 Command, the Military Region 5 High Command, the Military Command of Đà Nẵng City, the city’s Border Guard and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The Indian partners will also pay visits to the city’s authorities and hold a volleyball exchange event with the Vietnamese navy team during the three-day visit.

Members of the Việt Nam-India Friendship Association in Đà Nẵng will conduct a yoga show on board as a part of a series of programmes between the ships and the city’s communities.

Việt Nam and India marked the 53rd founding anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2025, with bilateral relations upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016. Defence cooperation is an important pillar of this partnership. 

Fleet tanker INS Shakti of the Indian Navy docks at Đà Nẵng City's Tiên Sa Port to begin a three-day visit to the city. Đà Nẵng has hosted nearly 200,000 Indian visitors in the first half of 2025. VNS Photo Công Thành

In 2023, INS Delhi also visited Đà Nẵng accompanied by INS Satpura, a stealth multi-role frigate. 

India has emerged as one of the city’s top 10 international tourist markets with nearly 200,000 visitors – 7.38 per cent of total international visitors – in the first half of 2025. Statistics show that one in every two Indian visitors to Việt Nam chooses Đà Nẵng as their destination.

The coastal city has emerged as an ideal location for luxury weddings from India, with 20 parties organised in Đà Nẵng over the past year.

The budget airline Vietjet Air resumed direct flights between Đà Nẵng and Ahmedabad in India in 2024, offering three flights per week.

A Bodhi tree taken from Bodhi Gaya, a Buddhist pilgrimage site in India, was planted during the annual Quán Thế Âm (Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva) festival – the city’s biggest Buddhist festival – at Quán Thế Âm Pagoda.

India has also supported Việt Nam in the preservation of the Chăm towers at the UNESCO-recognised world heritage site of Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary, and the two sides will continue their cooperation in an expanded conservation effort for the Chăm towers in Đà Nẵng's Phong Lệ village. — VNS