It is a profound honour to introduce this commemorative volume, published by the Diplomatist Magazine to mark a defining chapter – the tenth anniversary of the Viet Nam – India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and its historic elevation, in May 2026, to an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
When Viet Nam and India established the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in 2016, we set out a framework of shared intent. A decade later, that intent has matured into one of the most dynamic and substantive bilateral relationships in Asia. It is a partnership built on mutual trust, anchored in a convergent outlook on regional and global affairs, and sustained by the warmth of two peoples whose friendship reaches back across centuries of civilisational and Buddhist exchange. What was once an aspiration has become a daily, working reality — in trade and investment, in technology and innovation, in education and culture, and in the growing flow of people between our countries.
The State Visit of General Secretary and President To Lam to India from 5 to 7 May 2026 — the first-ever State Visit to India by a General Secretary and President of Viet Nam — gave this maturing relationship its decisive expression. Guided by the spirit of “shared vision, strategic convergence, and substantive cooperation,” the two countries agreed to elevate their ties to an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and signed more than fifty agreements spanning every pillar of cooperation: from defence and maritime security to digital payments and critical technologies, from agriculture and pharmaceuticals to tourism, aviation, education and culture. Taken together, these outcomes do not merely deepen an existing relationship; they open a new era in it.
It is a particular source of pride for this Consulate General that Mumbai — and the wider state of Maharashtra — was the closing stage of this landmark visit. It was here, at the Viet Nam – India Business Forum on 7 May 2026, that much of the visit’s commercial promise was translated into concrete commitments in aviation, tourism, technology and trade. Mumbai, India’s financial and commercial capital, is fast becoming the epicentre of economic, financial and innovation-driven cooperation between our two countries, while the emerging Maharashtra – Ho Chi Minh City corridor stands as a compelling model of state-to-state and city-to-city partnership. The presence and engagement of the Government of Maharashtra at the highest level affirmed a simple truth: the future of Viet Nam – India relations will be written not only in our capitals, but in our great commercial cities.
The momentum is real and measurable. Bilateral trade surpassed USD 16.4 billion in 2025, and our two governments have set their sights on USD 25 billion by 2030. Indian travellers to Viet Nam reached some 746,000 in 2025 — nearly four times the figure of 2019 — making Viet Nam one of the fastest-growing destinations for Indian visitors in Southeast Asia. Behind these numbers lie the things that matter most: enterprises entering new markets, students and scholars building shared futures, families and friendships taking shape across the air bridge that now connects our nations. This is the practical meaning of the Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for the businesses and communities we are privileged to serve.
Our two countries are also bound by parallel ambitions. Viet Nam’s Vision 2045 — to become a high-income developed nation by the centenary of its independence — and India’s Viksit Bharat 2047 are journeys of remarkable resonance. As Viet Nam advances the development priorities affirmed by the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, and as India pursues its own transformation, the success of each is increasingly intertwined with the other. The Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership gives this shared journey both a framework and a forward direction.
This volume is offered in that spirit. It looks back on a decade of achievement, documents the breakthrough outcomes of the May 2026 State Visit, and looks ahead to the decade to come. I extend my sincere gratitude to the distinguished contributors — from government, business, academia and the airlines that form the physical backbone of our connectivity — whose insights enrich these pages.
It is my hope that this publication will serve not only as a record of a historic moment, but as an invitation: to diplomats and policymakers, to enterprises and investors, to scholars and citizens of both nations, to translate the momentum of this new era into lasting outcomes. From Mumbai — the gateway city where the final chapter of the historic visit was concluded — I warmly welcome you to the pages that follow.
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