The two leaders will exchange views on wide-ranging bilateral, regional and global issues

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Virtual Summit with Prime Minister of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc on Monday is expected to provide guidance for the future development of the India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The two leaders are also likely to issue a Joint Vision for this.

During the Summit, the two leaders will exchange views on wide-ranging bilateral, regional and global issues. A number of agreements and announcements are also likely, covering areas like defence, energy, development partnership and healthcare, official sources said.

Implementation of India’s Defence Line of Credit for high speed guard boats for Vietnam will see further progress and new opportunities in renewable energy cooperation will also be explored.

“The summit is also expected to discuss India’s development and capacity building assistance to Vietnam through initiatives such as Quick Impact Projects (QIPs), ITEC and e-ITEC initiatives, PhD fellowships. India has also taken up projects in water resource management in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region, SDGs, digital connectivity and heritage conservation,” an official source said.

India is one of the very few countries with whom Vietnam has a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Over the years, this has diversified across wide-ranging areas – from political engagement to economic and development partnership, defence and security, energy partnership, cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts.

"Both India and Vietnam are important countries in the Indo-Pacific region with significant maritime interests. This will enable the two sides to explore potential cooperation based on India’s IPOI and ASEAN’s AOIP that Vietnam subscribes to. The two countries have shared interest in a free, open, peaceful, prosperous and a rules-based regional order," the official source said.

India and Vietnam are set to concurrently serve on the UN Security Council in 2021 as non-permanent members and this also opens up new opportunities for closer cooperation and coordination on regional and international issues, as well as the shared agenda for respect of international law and reformed multilateralism.

"Both India and Vietnam bring voices of moderation and equity in global discourse, which is important as we discuss the role of international organizations in dealing with contemporary challenges," said the official source.

The summit will cap a series of high-level exchanges with Viet Nam this year, including the visit of Vietnam’s Vice President to India in February and the telephonic conversation between the two Prime Ministers in April to discuss the Covid-19 pandemic.

The two Prime Ministers also met online during the 17th ASEAN-India Summit last month.

The recent intensity of high-level exchanges has provided sustained momentum to the ties between the two countries.

According to official sources, the timing of the Virtual Summit in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic will also allow the two leaders to take stock of the regional and global landscape.

They are expected to exchange views on their respective strategies to deal with the pandemic as well as the post-pandemic economic revival. It is worth noting that the existing economic and trade linkages between the two countries provide a useful platform to explore new and resilient supply chains.