The official talks between Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on May 6.— VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

NEW DELHI — Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday, during which the two countries agreed to upgrade relations to an 'Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership'.

The meeting took place after a state welcome ceremony co-chaired by Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Modi at the Presidential Palace, under the highest protocol reserved for heads of state.

PM Modi warmly welcomed General Secretary and President Lâm and the high-level Vietnamese delegation and congratulated the top leader on being elected State President by Việt Nam's 16th National Assembly.

At the talks, PM Modi particularly stressed that this visit to India, coming immediately after the great success of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Việt Nam and the completion of Việt Nam's state leadership consolidation, carried historic significance, especially as the two countries mark the 10th anniversary of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (2016–2026).

The top Vietnamese leader said Việt Nam always attaches importance to, and wishes to continuously strengthen, its traditional friendship and partnership with India, considering it one of the top priorities in Việt Nam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralisation in the new era.

The Party chief congratulated India on its major development achievements and highly appreciated the leadership role of PM Modi and the coalition government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party in transforming India into the world’s fourth-largest economy and one of the world’s leading science and technology centres.

He expressed confidence that India would successfully achieve its goal of becoming a developed country by 2047 with growing international stature and influence.

PM Modi stressed that India always regards Việt Nam as one of the most important partners in its 'Act East' policy and expressed confidence that Việt Nam would successfully achieve its development goals of becoming a developing country with modern industry and upper-middle income status by 2030, and a developed high-income country by 2045.

India's leader underlined that the two countries share common values, visions and aspirations regarding independence, self-reliance and a world order based on international law, providing a foundation for the two sides to accompany and support each other while contributing positively to peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

On this occasion, the two leaders expressed satisfaction at the remarkable progress achieved across multiple areas of cooperation over the past 10 years since the establishment of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Political trust has continued to deepen, defence and security cooperation has become a strategic pillar, while economic, trade and investment ties have steadily expanded, with bilateral trade surpassing US$16.4 billion in 2025. Cultural exchanges and people-to-people connectivity have also remained bright spots, with growing numbers of tourists travelling between the two countries thanks to nearly 90 direct flights a week linking them.

The Party leader stressed that the two countries still possess enormous potential and advantages to further expand cooperation for the practical benefit of their peoples and businesses, and proposed that both sides continue facilitating greater business presence in each other’s markets.

Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm signs the guest book prior to his talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

On that basis, the two sides agreed to elevate bilateral ties to an 'Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' under the spirit of 'Shared Vision, Strategic Convergence, Substantive Cooperation', opening a new stage in bilateral relations.

To concretise the newly upgraded partnership, the two leaders held frank discussions and agreed on strategic orientations to further deepen cooperation across all areas. Both sides affirmed the importance of enhancing political trust on the basis of shared visions as the core foundation guiding bilateral ties.

They agreed to maintain high-level exchanges and regular contacts, while further promoting the effectiveness of bilateral cooperation mechanisms, including the Việt Nam–India Joint Commission.

The two leaders highlighted the pivotal role of defence and security cooperation and affirmed their commitment to expanding collaboration in defence industry, security industry, maritime security, cybersecurity, information sharing and counter-terrorism. India pledged continued support for Việt Nam in defence and security training and capacity building.

In economic, trade and investment cooperation, the two leaders agreed to seek breakthroughs and enhance complementarities under the principle of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation, particularly in strengthening supply chain and global value chain linkages.

Việt Nam, India aim to raise bilateral trade to $25 billion by 2030 in a balanced and sustainable manner, while removing trade barriers to facilitate market access for each other’s goods.

Party chief and President Lâm affirmed Việt Nam's readiness to increase imports from India to diversify production inputs and proposed that India gradually remove regulations related to standards imposed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) on Vietnamese goods.

The two sides also encouraged high-quality two-way investment and agreed to facilitate major corporations from each country investing in the other through large-scale and symbolic projects, particularly in infrastructure, renewable energy, pharmaceuticals and high technology.

The leaders also agreed to make science and technology, innovation and digital transformation key drivers for the new phase of bilateral relations. The two sides agreed to expand cooperation in core technologies such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, information technology, 6G, healthcare, critical minerals and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

They also agreed to foster cooperation ecosystems between technology enterprises of the two countries, aiming towards the establishment of joint ventures, research and development centres and joint innovation hubs.

The two sides further agreed to strengthen the social foundation of bilateral relations through enhanced cultural, tourism and people-to-people exchanges; promoting shared cultural, historical and religious values; and boosting air connectivity, logistics cooperation and partnerships between localities and economic and technological centres of the two countries.

Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm held a private meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi prior to their official talks in New Delhi on May 6. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

PM Modi noted that many Vietnamese people travel to India for pilgrimage each year and expressed hope that tourism cooperation would continue to expand, while calling on Vietnamese businesses to invest further in India’s tourism sector.

On regional and international issues, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums, particularly the United Nations, ASEAN and ASEAN-led mechanisms. PM Narendra Modi highly appreciated ASEAN’s central role.

Both sides also stressed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight, and resolving disputes through peaceful means in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Following the talks, Lâm and Modi witnessed the signing and exchange of numerous cooperation documents in science and technology, critical minerals, healthcare, tourism and culture, finance, cybersecurity, local cooperation and auditing. They agreed to direct ministries and agencies to urgently and effectively implement the agreements reached, ushering Việt Nam–India relations into a new stage of development.

The two sides expressed confidence that, with the shared determination of the leaders and peoples of both countries, Việt Nam–India relations would continue to develop strongly in a deeper and more substantive manner, serving the interests of both people and contributing positively to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the region and the world.

Việt Nam's top leader conveyed greetings from Việt Nam's Party and State leaders to PM Modi and other Indian leaders, while cordially inviting Modi to visit Việt Nam in the near future, to which PM Modi gladly accepted has gladly accepted. — VNS

Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất