New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra met his Vietnam counterpart Le Minh Hung on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit here on Saturday.
Prior to the meeting, the two leaders warmly greeted each other and PM Modi met the delegation accompanying Le Minh Hung.
Earlier in the day, PM Le Minh Hung arrived in New Delhi to attend the 18th BRICS Summit. He was warmly received at the airport by Union Minister Murlidhar Mohol.
Extending a warm welcome to the visiting leader, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in a post on X, said: “India and Vietnam share an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, underpinned by longstanding bonds of friendship and cooperation expanding across defence and security, fintech, critical minerals and other emerging areas. The two sides continue to work closely on multilateral cooperation.”
As BRICS chair in 2026, India is set to host the two-day BRICS Summit here from Saturday, bringing together leaders of BRICS members, partner countries and outreach invitees.
India’s BRICS chairship is guided by the theme: ‘Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability’, reflecting PM Modi’s vision of a people-centric approach rooted in the spirit of “Humanity First.” In addition to these areas, the leaders will exchange views on strengthening intra-BRICS cooperation on common priorities and share perspectives on global and regional matters of mutual importance.
BRICS comprises Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. The partner countries are: Belarus, Cuba, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
Last month, Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita called on the Vietnamese Prime Minister and thanked him for his guidance on advancing bilateral cooperation between the two nations and translating high-level commitments into concrete results.
During the meeting, Margherita recalled the successful visit of Vietnam’s President To Lam to India, which marked the elevation of bilateral ties to an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Vietnamese President To Lam visited India in May and met PM Modi, with talks focused on the areas of defence and security, trade and investment, science and technology, development partnership, maritime cooperation, critical and rare earth minerals, space, renewable energy, including atomic energy, culture and people-to-people linkages.
The two leaders agreed to elevate the bilateral ties to an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. They announced a target to expand bilateral trade to $ 25 billion by 2030. Vietnam has joined the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI).
(IANS)
