Ambassador of India to Vietnam Pranay Verma has described the India-funded shipbuilding project is an icon of the India-Vietnam Defense Partnership.

Ambassador of India to Vietnam Pranay Verma (left) and representative of the General Department of Defense Industry at the ceremony on April 9. Photo: Embassy of India in Hanoi

The ambassador made the statement at the ceremony to launch and lay keel of two out of 12 high speed guard boats being built for the Vietnam Border Guard Command under the US$100 million Defense Line of Credit extended by the Government of India.

He attended the ceremony together with representatives of the General Department of Defense Industry under the Ministry of National Defense at the Hong Ha Shipyard in Haiphong city on April 9, 2021.

The ambassador at the ceremony.

The shipbuilding project reflects India’s commitments towards defense industry cooperation with Vietnam and capacity building of Vietnamese defense forces, the ambassador said, noting the importance of the project for its coincidence with preparations for the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence and the 50th anniversary of the India-Vietnam diplomatic relations.

The project, which is part of India’s extended Defense Lines of Credit worth US$600 million to Vietnam, is running well with five boats are being built by M/s Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in India and seven boats built in Hong Ha Shipyard Company in Vietnam.

Despite the disruptions caused by Covid-19, the project has progressed at a rapid pace. The first of these vessels was launched at the time of the Virtual Summit held between Prime Ministers of India and Vietnam on December 21, 2020.

Ambassador of India to Vietnam Pranay Verma (center) and Colonel Varadan Kumar, Defense Attaché Vietna, Laos & Cambodia (1st right)

Defense cooperation is an important pillar of the India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The bilateral defense engagements have diversified to wide-ranging contacts between the services, military to military exchanges, including visits of senior military leaders, capacity building, training programs and bilateral exercises.

The ambassador expressed confidence that the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and defense relations will continue to grow as an important factor of stability in the Indo-Pacific Region under the guidance of the historic “Joint Vision for Peace, Prosperity and People” adopted by the Prime Ministers at the Virtual Summit.