New Delhi: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and New Vietnamese PM Phạm Minh Chính will be speaking to each other on Saturday (July 10, 2021). The talks will happen around 11:15 am IST and comes as part of growing engagement between the two countries. This is the first conversation between the two leaders after Pham took charge as the Prime Minister of Vietnam. Phạm Minh Chính took charge in April this year and has served in various positions of the government.
The key focus, during the talks, will be on dealing with the COVID-19 crisis, vaccines, engagement in Indo pacific, and other related areas. Amid the second wave of the COVID pandemic, Vietnam had reached out to India with supplies.
Vietnam's envoy Pham Sanh Chau speaking to a leading news channel recently on vaccines said, "We also have the opportunity to purchase Covaxin. Covaxin is not approved yet by WHO for emergency use, that is why we are waiting for this approval by WHO and then we will intensify the discussion and drafting of the contract for the purchase of this COVAXIN for Vietnamese people."
In December of last year, Indian PM Narendra Modi and the then PM of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc held a virtual summit. During the summit, India handed over the first of 12 High-Speed Guard boats to Vietnam under the $100 million Defence Line of Credit extended by New Delhi to Hanoi.
Defence in fact has emerged as one of the pillars of the relationship. On the first of this month, India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh spoke to the Defence Minister of Vietnam, Sr. Lt. Gen. Phan Van Giang. Tweeting after the meet, he said, "India and Vietnam continue to make forward movement in overcoming the challenges posed by COVID-19."
India and Vietnam continue to make forward movement in overcoming the challenges posed by COVID-19.
I thank my Vietnamese counterpart for inviting me on an official visit to his beautiful and amazing country. I look forward to it. 3/3— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) July 1, 2021
