India-Vietnam Relations Explained

India-Vietnam relations are often described as one of the steadiest bilateral partnerships in the Indo-Pacific. The two countries have no territorial disputes, no history of conflict and a shared sense of having emerged from colonial rule through long national movements. Their ties began with solidarity between their leaders in the 1950s and have since developed into a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the highest rung in India’s own hierarchy of diplomatic partnerships, formalised in 2016.

Today the relationship spans defence and maritime security, energy exploration in the South China Sea, trade under the ASEAN framework, development cooperation, cultural heritage and a shared interest in a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific. This explainer follows the history of the partnership, its main pillars and the areas where progress has been slower, in a neutral and factual way.

Historical Foundations of India-Vietnam Relations

The links between India and the region now called Vietnam are ancient. Indian religion and culture reached the coasts of Southeast Asia through sea trade. In central Vietnam, the Champa kingdoms, which flourished for roughly a thousand years, built Hindu temples dedicated to Shiva and other deities. The temple complex at My Son, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, contains Sanskrit inscriptions and architecture influenced by Indian traditions. Buddhism, brought by monks and traders, also became a major part of Vietnam’s cultural life.

Solidarity during the freedom struggles

In the twentieth century, the Indian national movement and the Vietnamese struggle against French colonial rule fed a sense of kinship. India supported Vietnamese independence in international forums, and after the Geneva Accords of 1954 ended the First Indochina War, India chaired the International Control Commission, a body set up to supervise the ceasefire in Indochina, together with Canada and Poland. Nehru visited Hanoi in October 1954, and Ho Chi Minh visited India in 1958, strengthening personal ties between the leaders.

The Cold War period

During the Vietnam War, India maintained an officially non-aligned position but called for peace and respect for Vietnamese sovereignty. India raised its diplomatic representation to ambassadorial level in 1972 and recognised the unified Vietnam after 1975. India’s recognition of the Heng Samrin government in Cambodia in 1980, which was at odds with the position of ASEAN, was a point on which New Delhi and Hanoi shared a stance. Relations were close, supported by Soviet-era links with both countries, but the economic dimension remained limited until the 1990s.

The Growth of the Strategic Partnership

After Vietnam’s Doi Moi economic reforms of 1986 and India’s economic liberalisation in 1991, both countries turned toward greater economic engagement with the world. India’s Look East policy gave Vietnam a prominent place, and Vietnam saw India as a large, friendly power that could add balance to regional affairs.

Milestones

• 1972: Diplomatic relations raised to ambassador level.
• 1992: Beginning of Indian engagement with ASEAN, in which Vietnam became a member in 1995.
• 2000: Launch of the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation initiative, bringing together India, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.
• 2007: Declaration of a Strategic Partnership.
• 2016: Upgrade to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Hanoi, the first prime ministerial visit in about fifteen years.
• 2020s: Further deepening through defence agreements, digital and technological cooperation and regular high-level exchanges.

What the partnership means

The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership is not a military alliance. It is a framework that commits both sides to regular dialogue at all levels on political, security, economic, scientific and cultural issues, and it reflects the importance each country places on the other in its own regional strategy.

Defence and Maritime Security Cooperation

Defence cooperation is among the most important dimensions of India-Vietnam relations. India has trained Vietnamese personnel, supplied equipment and supported the modernisation of the Vietnam People’s Army and Navy, while the two sides have deepened dialogue on maritime issues.

Lines of credit and equipment

• Patrol vessels: India extended a line of credit of about 100 million United States dollars in 2014 for the construction of high-speed patrol boats for Vietnam’s border guard, which were built in Indian shipyards and delivered later in the decade.
• Further credit: In 2016, India announced a larger defence line of credit to support additional procurement.
• Naval gifting: In 2023, India handed over a missile corvette, INS Kirpan, to the Vietnam People’s Navy, a notable gesture of defence trust, since it involved the transfer of a commissioned warship.

Training and dialogue

Vietnamese officers and personnel have trained in India, including in submarine, language and English-language programmes, while Indian Navy ships make regular port calls at Vietnamese ports such as Cam Ranh and Da Nang. The two defence establishments have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on defence cooperation and a joint vision statement on defence cooperation, and have discussed mutual logistics support and cooperation in defence industry. Vietnam has long relied on Russian-origin military equipment, as has India, which gives the two sides a common platform of technology and experience.

Energy Cooperation and the South China Sea

Energy cooperation is the oldest economic link in the partnership and has an unavoidable strategic dimension. ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), the overseas arm of India’s state-owned exploration firm, signed an agreement for exploration in Vietnam’s offshore Block 06.1 in the Nam Con Son basin in the late 1980s and has been a long-standing partner of the national oil company PetroVietnam in producing gas.

Block 128 and the maritime context

Beginning in the mid-2000s, OVL also took up exploration in Block 128, an area off the Vietnamese coast claimed to be part of Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zone. China has objected to some of the activities in the South China Sea in which Vietnam and its partners are engaged. India’s position has been that such activities are commercial in nature, are carried out at the invitation of a sovereign partner and are consistent with international law. The India-Vietnam partnership in this domain therefore has both a commercial and a geopolitical aspect.

Broader energy interests

Beyond hydrocarbons, both countries have shown interest in renewable energy, particularly solar power, in energy efficiency and in petroleum refining and downstream projects. Indian companies have investigated projects in power generation and fertilisers. The commercial viability of some exploration blocks has varied with oil prices and geology, a reminder that energy projects take many years to pay off.

Trade, Investment and Economic Ties

Bilateral trade has grown considerably since the early 2000s. Vietnam is one of India’s leading trading partners within ASEAN, and both governments have expressed ambitions to raise trade further. Trade takes place largely under the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement, which came into effect in 2010, and under a range of ASEAN-level arrangements.

What is traded

• Indian exports to Vietnam: Typically include pharmaceuticals, agricultural commodities, meat, textiles, machinery and chemicals, as well as iron and steel and cotton.
• Vietnamese exports to India: Typically include electronics and electrical equipment, mobile phones and components, machinery, and various manufactured and agricultural goods.

Investment and business links

Indian companies in Vietnam operate in power, IT, pharmaceuticals, agro-chemicals, manufacturing and services, while Vietnamese firms have shown interest in India in sectors such as consumer goods and automobiles. Investment flows have been modest relative to the size of the two economies, and both sides acknowledge the need for better financial connectivity, easier banking channels and direct flights. Air links between Indian and Vietnamese cities, including direct services to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, have grown in recent years and are helping tourism and business travel.

Development Cooperation and Capacity Building

India has used soft-power tools to strengthen the partnership. Under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme, Vietnamese officials and professionals receive training in India. Scholarships, language training and technical education are among the fields of exchange.

Quick impact and technology projects

India has funded Quick Impact Projects in Vietnam through the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation framework, including water resource, agricultural and community projects. An Army Software Training Centre and other IT-related institutions have also been supported by India. Cooperation on space applications, such as satellite tracking and data reception, and on nuclear energy for peaceful uses, has been discussed. The India-Vietnam Joint Commission, headed by the foreign ministers, is the principal forum for reviewing development cooperation and broader bilateral matters.

Science and technology

• Cooperation in information technology, cyber security and digital transformation.
• Exchanges in medicine, including traditional medicine and pharmaceuticals.
• Agricultural research, including rice and aquaculture.
• Joint work on climate resilience and disaster management.

Cultural and People-to-People Ties

Culture has helped keep the relationship warm. Buddhism links the two countries, with Vietnamese pilgrims visiting Bodh Gaya and other sites in India, while Indian visitors tour Vietnamese pagodas and the Cham temples. The Archaeological Survey of India has been involved in the conservation of some of the Hindu temples at My Son, and this continuing project is one of the most visible examples of heritage cooperation.

Education, tourism and yoga

Vietnamese students and professionals attend courses in India under ITEC and other scholarships, and Indian students pursue medical and language programmes in Vietnam. Tourism is growing in both directions, helped by visa facilitation and direct flights. Yoga and Ayurveda enjoy a following in Vietnam, while Vietnamese cuisine and handicrafts have begun to attract interest in India. Indian cultural centres and festivals, along with language exchange programmes, add to the exchange. Hindi and Sanskrit studies in Vietnamese universities are small but long-standing.

Why this soft power matters

While the strategic and economic dimensions receive more attention, cultural affinities supply a layer of public goodwill that makes political cooperation easier. Surveys and statements from both sides frequently note the absence of historical grievances as an asset.

A Shared Vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific

India and Vietnam share a commitment to a free, open, inclusive and rules-based Indo-Pacific. They emphasise freedom of navigation and overflight, unimpeded lawful commerce, respect for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the peaceful resolution of disputes. Vietnam, which has competing maritime claims with China and others in the South China Sea, has welcomed India’s growing involvement in the region.

India’s position

India is not a claimant in the South China Sea disputes. It has called for the peaceful resolution of differences in accordance with international law and has supported the idea of an effective code of conduct between ASEAN and China. India has also emphasised the importance of ASEAN centrality in the regional architecture and has linked its own Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative to ASEAN’s outlook.

Vietnam’s approach

Vietnam follows a policy often described as “bamboo diplomacy”, in which it maintains good relations with many powers, including China, Russia, the United States, Japan and India, without entering formal alliances. India’s own strategic autonomy is similar in spirit, making the two partners compatible. Vietnam has also supported India’s candidature for a permanent seat in a reformed United Nations Security Council, while India has supported Vietnam’s role in regional institutions.

Challenges and Areas for Improvement

Despite the political warmth, observers on both sides note that the relationship has not yet realised its full potential in several areas.

• Economic depth: Trade and investment remain modest compared with the strategic rhetoric, with Indian firms still relatively small participants in Vietnam’s market.
• Connectivity: Despite improving air links, shipping, banking and payment connections are less developed than they could be.
• Trade structure: Both countries rely on similar export sectors in some areas, such as textiles, agriculture and electronics assembly, creating competition as well as complementarity. Concerns about non-tariff barriers and market access are raised from time to time.
• Project delivery: Some lines of credit and development projects have moved slowly because of procedural and financing issues.
• Managing the China factor: Both India and Vietnam have complex and substantial ties with China, and both prefer to avoid framing their relationship as directed against any third country.

Both governments treat these as issues to be resolved through the Joint Commission and the regular exchange of visits.

Future Prospects

The coming years are likely to see growth in several areas. Defence industrial cooperation, including joint training, maintenance and potentially co-production, is one such area. Others include cooperation on digital public infrastructure, clean energy, supply chain resilience and semiconductors, as both countries look to diversify trade networks. Vietnam’s strong manufacturing base and India’s large market make a natural pairing, and multilateral frameworks such as ASEAN-India arrangements, the East Asia Summit and the Mekong-Ganga Cooperation will continue to provide supporting structures.

Improving physical and financial connectivity will determine how much of the political goodwill converts into economic gain. Easier visa regimes, direct flights, shipping services and links between payment systems could all raise the scale of exchange between ordinary businesses and citizens.

Conclusion

India-Vietnam relations rest on a rare combination of historical goodwill, strategic convergence and an absence of bilateral disputes. Defence ties, energy cooperation and shared principles on maritime order give the partnership its strategic content, while trade, development projects and cultural bonds give it social depth. The central task ahead is to turn the political closeness reflected in the 2016 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership into larger economic and people-to-people connections.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did India and Vietnam establish diplomatic relations?

India opened a consulate in Hanoi in 1956 and the two countries raised their relations to ambassadorial level in 1972. The partnership was formalised as a Strategic Partnership in 2007 and upgraded to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016.

What is the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between India and Vietnam?

It is the highest level of partnership in India’s diplomatic framework, announced in September 2016 during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Hanoi. It commits both sides to regular high-level dialogue on political, security, economic and cultural issues, but it is not a military alliance.

How does India help Vietnam’s defence capabilities?

India has extended lines of credit for patrol vessels and defence equipment, trained Vietnamese military personnel and handed over the missile corvette INS Kirpan to the Vietnam People’s Navy in 2023. The two countries also hold regular defence dialogues and have a joint vision statement on defence cooperation.

Why does India explore for oil in Vietnamese waters?

ONGC Videsh has been a partner in Vietnam’s offshore blocks since the 1980s as part of India’s effort to secure overseas energy assets. Some of the areas lie in the South China Sea, where China objects to certain activities, but India maintains that its work is commercial, consistent with international law and carried out at the invitation of Vietnam.

What is the basis of India-Vietnam trade?

Trade takes place mainly under the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement, which has been in effect since 2010. India exports items such as pharmaceuticals, agricultural products and machinery, while Vietnam sends electronics, mobile phone components and machinery.

Do India and Vietnam have any bilateral disputes?

No. The two countries have no territorial or historical disputes, which is regarded as one of the strengths of the relationship. Challenges are mostly about increasing the volume of trade and investment, improving connectivity and delivering projects on time.