Ajit Doval in Hanoi to review India-Vietnam strategic ties

National Security Advisor Ajit Doval arrived in Hanoi on Sunday, 1 November, for an official visit to meet Vietnamese leaders in line with the India-Vietnam Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The Indian Embassy in Vietnam confirmed his arrival on X, saying Doval will interact with the Vietnamese leadership during the visit.

The visit follows the fourth India-Vietnam Security Dialogue held in New Delhi in October 2026, which reviewed cooperation in counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, maritime security, economic security and emerging technologies. Sources told The New Indian Express that Doval is scheduled to discuss expanding bilateral cooperation in security, defence and strategic affairs, with defence and maritime security cooperation expected to figure prominently, including possible co-production arrangements.

India and Vietnam elevated ties to an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership during Vietnamese President To Lam's State visit to India in May. Earlier on 27 October, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla met Vietnamese MP Mai Dung Thai Quynh on the sidelines of the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum in New Delhi, discussing trade, industry, IT and artificial intelligence. In September, Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Vietnamese Deputy Minister of National Defence Senior Lt Gen Nguyen Truong Thang discussed defence industrial cooperation on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit.