Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will embark on an official visit to Vietnam and South Korea from May 18 to 21, with discussions expected to focus on defence cooperation, industrial partnerships and maritime collaboration in the Indo-Pacific region.
Rajnath Singh will visit Vietnam from May 18 to 19 before travelling to South Korea for a three-day visit till May 21. Ahead of his departure, the Defence Minister said the visit would help further expand bilateral engagement with the two Asian nations and strengthen strategic ties in the Indo-Pacific.
“The focus will be on deepening strategic military cooperation, strengthening defence industrial partnerships, and boosting maritime collaboration, promoting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” Singh said in a post on X.
The visit to Vietnam comes as India and Vietnam mark 10 years of their Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which was recently upgraded to an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during the state visit of the Vietnamese President to India earlier this month.
During the visit, Rajnath Singh will hold bilateral talks with Vietnam’s Minister of National Defence Phan Van Giang. The two leaders are expected to review ongoing defence cooperation and explore ways to strengthen strategic engagement.
India and Vietnam had signed a Joint Vision Statement on Defence Partnership towards 2030 during Rajnath Singh’s earlier visit to Vietnam in June 2022. The roadmap laid out key areas for expanding defence cooperation between the two countries.
The Defence Minister’s visit also coincides with the 136th birth anniversary of former Vietnamese President Ho Chi Minh. Rajnath Singh is scheduled to lay a wreath at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum during the visit.
In South Korea, the Defence Minister will hold talks with South Korean Defence Minister Ahn Gyu-back. The discussions are expected to review bilateral defence ties and identify new areas of cooperation. The two sides will also exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
Rajnath Singh will additionally meet Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Minister Lee Yong-cheol and chair the India-Korea business roundtable aimed at strengthening defence industrial cooperation.
The visit will also highlight India’s role during the Korean War. According to the Defence Ministry, India’s 60 Parachute Field Ambulance unit of the Indian Army served in Korea for over three years, treating more than two lakh patients and carrying out around 2,500 surgeries, besides helping civilians affected by the conflict.
India also chaired the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission and deployed the Custodian Force of India, comprising over 5,000 Indian Army personnel, to oversee the peaceful repatriation of prisoners of war after the conflict.
To honour fallen soldiers, Rajnath Singh and South Korea’s Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Kwon Oh-eul will jointly inaugurate the Indian War Memorial on May 21.
The Defence Ministry said the growing alignment between India’s ‘Act East Policy’ and South Korea’s ‘Indo-Pacific Strategy’, along with shared democratic values, has strengthened ties between the two countries in recent years.
