HCMC - Vietnam’s Party General Secretary and State President To Lam will pay a state visit to India from May 5 to 7, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

The visit, made at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will be Lam's first to India in his current role. It comes as bilateral relations continue to develop positively, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership. India is the third country to establish this level of partnership with Vietnam, following China in May 2008 and Russia in July 2012. Officials say political trust has been reinforced through frequent high level exchanges across party, state and parliamentary channels. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first foreign leaders to congratulate To Lam after he assumed the presidency earlier this month, expressing confidence that ties would continue to grow. The visit by Party General Secretary and State President To Lam is expected to further strengthen ties between Vietnam and India, a key member of the BRICS group of emerging economies, while highlighting cooperation among Global South countries amid an increasingly complex global environment. The trip is also expected to expand into new areas of cooperation where both sides have strong potential, including innovation, critical and emerging technologies, renewable energy and healthcare. Fields such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, next generation chip design, rare earth minerals, advanced manufacturing, space technology, digital governance solutions, data and cybersecurity are seen as particularly promising areas for collaboration.