In a positive development, India and Vietnam on Wednesday (8 June) inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on mutual logistics support during the visit of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Vietnam's capital Hanoi.

The development gains significance as the MoU is the first such major agreement which Vietnam has signed with any country.

Singh held bilateral talks with Vietnam’s Minister of National Defence General Phan Van Giang in Hanoi on 8 June.

According to a Defence Ministry statement, wide-ranging discussions on effective and practical initiatives to further expand bilateral defence engagements and regional and global issues were held between the two sides.

The two Defence Ministers also signed the ‘Joint Vision Statement on India-Vietnam Defence Partnership towards 2030’, which will significantly enhance the scope and scale of existing defence cooperation.

"A Memorandum of Understanding on Mutual Logistics Support was also inked in the presence of both the Ministers. In these times of increasing cooperative engagements between the defence forces of the two countries, this is a major step towards simplifying procedures for mutually beneficial logistic support and is the first such major agreement which Vietnam has signed with any country," the ministry said.

The two ministers also agreed for early finalisation of $500 million Defence Line of Credit extended to Vietnam.

Implementation of the projects shall add substantially to Vietnam’s defence capabilities and further Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Make in India, Make for the World’, the ministry said.

Singh also announced gifting two simulators and monetary grant towards setting up of Language and IT Lab at Air Force Officers Training School for capacity building of Vietnamese Armed Forces.