New Delhi, May 6, 2026 — India and Vietnam agreed to deepen economic ties and aim to raise bilateral trade to $25 billion by 2030, according to a joint statement issued after talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vietnam President To Lam during the latter’s official visit to India. The leaders committed to strengthening cooperation at both government and business levels to boost two-way trade, investment and technological partnership.
“The two sides agreed to reinforce cooperation between the two rapidly growing economies at the level of governments and businesses for increasing two-way trade, investment, and their technological partnership,” the joint statement said. Both countries pledged steps to facilitate market access for agricultural produce, citing Indian grapes and pomegranates and Vietnamese durians and pomelos, while Vietnam affirmed plans to diversify supply sources and import more from India for domestic production and exports.
The two sides also agreed to pursue a more conducive regulatory environment to ease doing business, including improvements in standards compliance and certification. They urged an early conclusion to the ongoing review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), stressing that any outcome should be mutually beneficial, trade-facilitative and aligned with current global trading practices.
Leaders agreed to promote greater two-way investment across sectors such as high technology, transport, manufacturing, logistics, renewable energy, smart agriculture, electric vehicles, information technology, healthcare, agro-processing, aquaculture, tourism and hospitality. They emphasised stronger linkages between startup ecosystems and cooperation among innovation centres.
Cooperation will be stepped up in oil and gas exploration — including new well development where Indian firms show interest — in line with Vietnamese and international law, including the 1982 UNCLOS. Recognising the growing importance of e-commerce and the digital economy, both sides pledged to share regulatory experience and support MSMEs to integrate into regional and global value chains.
The leaders welcomed an MoU between the Reserve Bank of India and the State Bank of Vietnam on financial innovation and digital payments and agreed to promote retail payment linkages via QR codes to facilitate tourism and business. They also committed to collaboration in critical and emerging technologies — from digital public infrastructure, 6G and artificial intelligence to space, nuclear technology, marine sciences, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, advanced materials and critical minerals — through joint research, R&D centres and product development.
Acknowledging climate and energy transition priorities, the two countries agreed to enhance cooperation in clean and renewable energy and disaster-resilient technologies. They noted progress on peaceful uses of atomic energy, including follow-up from the 4th India–Vietnam Joint Committee Meeting on atomic energy, and the planned ASEAN-India tracking and data reception station and processing facility in Vietnam, with Hanoi asked to expedite remaining processes. The leaders also welcomed an MoU between IREL (India) Ltd and Vietnam’s VINATOM on rare earth cooperation and urged its early implementation.
Original Source: https://theshillongtimes.com/2026/05/06/india-vietnam-fix-25-bn-trade-target-in-talks-to-bolster-economic-ties/
Category: INTERNATIONAL,NATIONAL,News Alert
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Publish Date: 2026-05-06 21:39:00
