The governments of India and Vietnam have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on mutual logistics support for their armed forces.
As part of the agreement, troops from the two nations will be allowed to use each other’s bases for repairs and to replenish supplies.
The pact is seen as a “major upswing” in India-Vietnam strategic and bilateral ties, especially since both countries have shared concerns over China.
“In these times of increasing cooperative engagements between the defense forces of the two countries, this is a major step towards simplifying procedures for mutually beneficial logistic support,” the Indian defense ministry said in a statement.
The signing happened during a three-day visit to Hanoi by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh resulting in “fruitful” talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Phan Van Giang.
Vietnam’s ministry stated that the memorandum is the first such agreement its government has signed with any nation.
‘India-Vietnam Defence Partnership Towards 2030’
The mutual logistics support agreement is part of a joint vision statement called “India-Vietnam Defence Partnership Towards 2030.”
The partnership aims to expand and strengthen the “scope and scale” of the two countries’ defense ties by 2030.
“We had wide-ranging discussions on effective and practical initiatives to further expand bilateral defense engagements and regional and global issues,” Singh stressed.
He stated that India and Vietnam have the “most trustworthy relations with broader convergence of interests and common concerns.”
The minister is scheduled to talk to Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh about further bolstering bilateral ties.