A bilateral discussion between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung was held in New Delhi during the 18th BRICS Summit. The visit by the Vietnamese Prime Minister is amid India’s Chairship and hosting of the 18th BRICS Summit on September 12-13, 2026. India’s Chairship is based on the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, where development, sustainability and innovation are the major areas of focus.

Core pillars and strategic objectives

The Ministry of External Affairs provided information that India has an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Vietnam. This strong bilateral partnership has been strengthened over the years by existing historical ties and continued cooperation in diverse areas like defence and security, fintech, critical minerals, and other emerging technical areas. 

The two countries have kept working on promoting their multilateral cooperation in various global forums on an ongoing basis. The cooperation was further strengthened earlier in May when the President of Vietnam, Thieu To Lam, visited India. 

In that earlier meeting, both nations pledged to officially witness their bilateral ties as an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership based on and guided by the virtue of shared vision, strategic convergence and substantive cooperation, and transiting into concrete and tangible results.

The Vietnamese broadcaster Voice of Vietnam reported that the 18th BRICS Summit is a strategic opportunity for the Southeast Asian nation to further consolidate and deepen its bilateral relations with India. The forum is expected to help Vietnam improve its diplomatic and economic ties with other BRICS nations and partner countries. 

Leadership and vision

At the summit proceedings, Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung will put forward proposals for Vietnam’s overall vision and specific solutions on major issues of international cooperation, economic growth, sustainable development and ways to address urgent international issues.

Reports suggest that the countries of Malaysia and Ethiopia, explicitly, showed their keen interest in having defence ties with India. The leadership and Chairship of the 18th BRICS Summit occur against the backdrop of an intricate global landscape defined by international economic fragmentation, swift technological disruption, geopolitical uncertainty, climate change concerns, and escalating resource constraints. 

The overall aim for India for the upcoming 2026 Chairship is to successfully translate the new expanded representation of the BRICS platform into concrete cooperation in the real world. India seeks to achieve this through the development of wide, global acceptance of its members and the enhancement of the real-world effectiveness of current multi-lateral operational mechanisms.

Conclusion

During the bilateral meeting between PM Narendra Modi and Vietnamese PM Le Minh Hung, the two leaders demonstrated a deepening strategic convergence between India and Vietnam in the context of their enhanced comprehensive strategic partnership. Both sides will keep advancing their cooperation in security, defence, fintech, and emerging critical sectors as Vietnam assumes the chairmanship of the 18th BRICS Summit as a partner nation.

These bilateral exchanges, conducted on the sidelines of the summit, represent a positive contribution to India’s key goals of driving international resilience, sustainable development and multi-nation cooperation in a changing world.