NSA Ajit Doval Vietnam talks on Monday took in three ministries in a single day in Hanoi, with India's National Security Adviser meeting the country's defence, public security and foreign ministers.

Doval arrived on Sunday for a two-day official visit. According to the Embassy of India in Hanoi, the visit is in line with the Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the level to which the two countries raised their ties in May.

He met General Phan Van Giang, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, and held delegation level talks with General Luong Tam Quang, the Minister of Public Security. Later in the day he met Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung. All three are members of the Politburo of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

Security cooperation "reflects the deep and mutually trusted civilisational partnership between India and Viet Nam," the embassy said.

General Phan Van Giang and NSA Doval agree to deepen defence engagement

General Phan Van Giang received Doval at the Ministry of National Defence headquarters on Monday morning. The two reviewed ongoing defence cooperation and agreed to deepen engagement further, the embassy said. According to Vietnamese reports, the minister sought Doval's continued support for defence ties in keeping with their place as a pillar of the partnership.

Neither account named a platform or a contract, which is usual for a call of this kind.

The two sides work under a Joint Vision Statement on defence partnership towards 2030, agreed in June 2022. India handed over the missile corvette INS Kirpan to Vietnam in July 2023, and Larsen and Toubro built 12 high speed guard boats under a USD 100 million credit line. Two further credit lines, of USD 120 million and USD 180 million, are under implementation, according to the Ministry of External Affairs. Indian Army, Navy and Air Force training teams are stationed at Nha Trang, and Vietnam gets about 40 defence training slots in India every year.

India has also confirmed a supply agreement for the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile with Vietnam.

The past six months have been busy. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Hanoi in May, when the two countries signed a memorandum on Artificial Intelligence and quantum technology. Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, then Chief of the Air Staff, followed in August. In September, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh held talks in New Delhi with Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Truong Thang, and the next Defence Policy Dialogue was set for the sidelines of Aero India 2027.

NSA Ajit Doval Vietnam talks cover cyber security and transnational crime

The talks with General Luong Tam Quang covered ongoing security cooperation, and both sides agreed to further enhance existing ties, the embassy said. They also exchanged views on regional and global developments.

Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security gave a fuller account. It said the two sides agreed to improve the exchange of strategic information, including real time data sharing on political, strategic and non-traditional security issues. They would also keep up their role as a quick and reliable channel for messages between the top leaders of the two countries.

The ministry said it had asked India to take forward a draft memorandum on training of personnel and a draft agreement on transnational crime with India's Ministry of Home Affairs. It also proposed studying pacts on the protection of classified information and on human trafficking, particularly of women and children, and sought training in Artificial Intelligence, digital transformation and handling of cyber security incidents.

Vietnam seeks Indian support on APEC security and UN peacekeeping

Vietnam will host the APEC summit in 2027. General Luong Tam Quang asked India to share more information on security arrangements for the meeting, the ministry said.

The minister also sought Indian help in training police peacekeepers, and in building and running the ministry's UN peacekeeping training centre. The two armies already hold Exercise VINBAX, and the Indian embassy has described India as the only international partner to hold an annual field peacekeeping exercise with Vietnam.

October Security Dialogue set the agenda for the Hanoi talks

The NSA Ajit Doval Vietnam visit came about two weeks after the fourth India-Vietnam Security Dialogue in New Delhi on October 16. Deputy National Security Adviser Pavan Kapoor and Senior Lieutenant General Pham The Tung, Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Public Security, co-chaired that round, which reviewed counter-terrorism, cyber security, maritime engagement, economic security and emerging technologies.

The dialogue is held every two years under a 2016 memorandum between India's National Security Council Secretariat and Vietnam's Ministry of Public Security. Doval praised its latest results on Monday, the ministry said.

According to the ministry, recent meetings have also produced a proposal for a business forum in 2027 and a plan to study a joint working group on counter-terrorism. The first cyber security consultation between the two sides was held in September, after a Cyber Policy Dialogue in January.

India and Vietnam discuss 55th anniversary of diplomatic ties

With Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, Doval discussed how to mark the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2027. India established full diplomatic relations with Vietnam on January 7, 1972.

The anniversary also came up in the security talks, where both sides agreed to step up delegation exchanges, the Ministry of Public Security said.

General Luong Tam Quang invited Doval and his delegation to an international conference on transnational crime, which the ministry plans to hold in Hanoi in July 2027 with UNODC and INTERPOL.