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As India and Vietnam deepen their defence partnership, the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet's warships- INS Udaygiri, a stealth frigate, and INS Kavaratti, an anti-submarine warfare corvette, both indigenously designed and constructed warships of the Indian Navy, arrived at Nha Rong Port, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on Monday during their operational deployment to the South East Asia region.
In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said that the ships, led by RAdm Alok Ananda, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, were accorded a warm ceremonial welcome by personnel from the Vietnam People's Navy, representatives of the HCMC People's Committee, and port authorities. The reception reflected the close, longstanding ties between the two navies and the growing maritime partnership between India and Vietnam. During the port call, the Indian Navy and the Vietnam People's Navy will undertake a series of professional interactions, cross-deck exchanges, sporting fixtures and community outreach activities. Senior leadership interactions are also scheduled, offering an opportunity to exchange perspectives and further strengthen bilateral naval cooperation, the statement said. It further highlighted how the deployment marks the Indian Navy's first major presence in Vietnam since the bilateral relationship was elevated to an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership in May 2026. The Joint Statement in May noted how on the defence front, the leaders reaffirmed that defence and security cooperation is a key pillar of the India- Viet Nam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. They commended the effective implementation of the Joint Vision Statement on India- Viet Nam Defence Partnership towards 2030, which continues to guide the growing defence ties between the two countries. The Joint Statement further observed that the leaders agreed to further strengthen cooperation and enhance engagements in both traditional and emerging areas of defence cooperation, including defence policy dialogue, joint exercises, staff talks, joint research and co-production of new defence technologies, enhanced port calls by Naval vessels and Air force aircrafts, peacekeeping activities, information sharing, hydrography, defence exhibitions, capacity building, defence industrial cooperation, maritime security, maritime safety, and search and rescue operations based on mutual interest and priorities of the two countries, which will also contribute to greater stability in the wider Indo-Pacific region. They also decided to enhance defence systems procurement between the two countries. (ANI)
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