At the reception, General Nguyen Tan Cuong affirmed that the traditional friendship between Vietnam and India has been growing strongly across all fields, from politics, diplomacy, and defense to economy, trade, and investment.
    |
 |
|
General Nguyen Tan Cuong (R) and Air Chief Marshal AP Singh |
|
|
 |
|
General Nguyen Tan Cuong receives Air Chief Marshal AP Singh. |
During the State visit to India by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam in May 2026, the two sides upgraded their ties to an Enhanced Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, marking a new stage of development in the Vietnam - India relations under the motto of “sharing vision, converging strategies, and pursuing substantive cooperation.”
|
|
 |
|
An overview of the reception |
|
|
 |
|
General Nguyen Tan Cuong and Air Chief Marshal AP Singh present souvenirs to each other. |
General Nguyen Tan Cuong stressed that the bilateral defense cooperation is an important pillar of the two countries’ partnership. On the basis of the sound Vietnam - India relationship, defense cooperation has received strong attention from both sides and produced practical results, especially in delegation exchanges at all levels, particularly high-level visits; dialogue and consultation mechanisms; cooperation between services and arms; defense industry; education and training; U.N. peacekeeping operations; and preferential credit programs.
Highly valuing the outcomes of the earlier talks between the Commander of Vietnam’s Air Defense - Air Force Service and the Chief of the Air Staff of the Indian Air Force, General Nguyen Tan Cuong noted the positive and effective cooperation between the two air forces over the past time, particularly in maintaining delegation exchanges at all levels, air force consultations, professional exchanges, and training support. General Nguyen Tan Cuong affirmed that the leadership of the Ministry of National Defense and the General Staff of the Vietnam People’s Army supports and will create favorable conditions for the air forces of the two countries to implement the cooperation contents they have agreed upon.
On this occasion, General Nguyen Tan Cuong sincerely thanked the Indian Ministry of Defense for sponsoring equipment for the construction of a foreign language classroom at Vietnam’s Air Force Officer Training School. The facility is now being used effectively, helping improve the quality of training for cadets at the school.
|
|
 |
|
General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, and delegates |
General Nguyen Tan Cuong said that Vietnam will organize the Vietnam Defense Expo in December 2026. Leaders of the Ministry of National Defense, the General Staff, and military services have sent invitations to Indian partners. He expressed his hope to welcome a high-ranking Indian military delegation and Indian defense enterprises to attend the expo and display their products, contributing to the overall success of the event.
For his part, the Indian Air Chief Marshal expressed his pleasure at witnessing the strong development of India - Vietnam cooperation, as well as bilateral defense cooperation, which has achieved positive results in many fields.
Agreeing with the cooperation proposals from the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense, he expressed his hope that in the coming time, the two sides will coordinate to further promote cooperation between the two ministries of National Defense in general, and between the two air forces in particular, in a deeper, more substantive, and more effective manner in all areas agreed upon by both sides.
Translated by Minh Anh