The Vietnam Coast Guard (VCG) and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) convened their sixth Bilateral Meeting in Hanoi on August 20 to review cooperation outcomes and set directions for strengthening practical partnership and mutual support in the years ahead.
The meeting was co-chaired by Major General Vu Trung Kien, Deputy Commander for Law of the VCG, and Additional Director General Anand Prakash Badola of the ICG.
Major General Kien noted that the two forces have steadily expanded collaboration in recent years through delegation exchanges, professional experience-sharing, reciprocal ship visits, joint exercises, training, and capacity-building. These initiatives, he stressed, have enhanced maritime law enforcement capabilities while fostering stronger ties between the two forces and the two nations.
Both sides have also actively engaged in multilateral frameworks such as the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP), the Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting (HACGAM), and the Coast Guard Global Summit (CGGS), contributing to regional and global maritime peace and stability.
Kien highlighted the VCG’s appreciation for the ICG’s efforts in flexibly maintaining effective cooperation activities, which have further strengthened the close and growing ties between the two sides.
For his part, Badola proposed the early resumption of the ship-rider programme to improve interoperability in joint drills, and called for broader cooperation in training programmes focused on law enforcement at sea, search and rescue, and marine pollution response.
Looking forward, the two sides agreed to maintain mutual ship visits, increase participation in training and conferences hosted by each other, and support each other in multilateral forums. They also discussed institutionalising a joint exercise named “Sahyog-Cooperation” as an annual feature during reciprocal ship visits, symbolising the partnership between the two forces.
The seventh Bilateral Meeting between the VCG and the ICG is scheduled to take place in India in 2026./.
