This will be the first time Prime Minister Le Minh Hung attends a BRICS Summit in his new capacity, and the second time Viet Nam has participated in the summit as a partner country of the grouping. The trip is of particular significance, both bilaterally and multilaterally: it demonstrates Viet Nam’s high regard for and active contribution to multilateral mechanisms, including BRICS, while sending a strong message of Viet Nam’s support for India’s BRICS chairmanship in 2026 and the enhanced comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.
The trip also represents a practical step in implementing Viet Nam’s foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation, and development; diversifying and multilateralising its external relations; and proactively and actively pursuing comprehensive, substantive, and effective international integration.
After 20 years of formation and development, BRICS has established itself as the largest grouping of developing countries, with an increasingly important position in global governance and the balance of power in the world. Comprising 11 member states and having established a partner-country mechanism with 10 countries, BRICS currently accounts for approximately 44% of global GDP and around 56% of the world’s population.
Cooperation within BRICS is becoming increasingly substantive and expanding into new areas such as innovation, artificial intelligence, healthcare, energy, food security, and sustainable development, thereby helping to better address the needs of developing countries while strengthening the bloc’s collective voice on global issues.
Since becoming a BRICS partner country in May 2025, Viet Nam has participated in activities within the BRICS outreach framework in a proactive and constructive manner, making responsible contributions to global efforts, upholding multilateralism and international law, and promoting solidarity and international cooperation. Over the past period, Viet Nam has participated in cooperation mechanisms and initiatives aligned with its priorities, initially helping expand channels of cooperation, strengthen experience exchanges, and gain access to new technological initiatives and trends.
Overall, Viet Nam’s participation in BRICS has reaffirmed the consistent foreign policy of the Vietnamese Party and State, enhanced the country’s position and reputation, and deepened bilateral relations between Viet Nam and BRICS member states. Viet Nam’s participation has been welcomed by BRICS countries and highly appreciated by the international community. Against this backdrop, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung’s attendance at the BRICS Summit will further promote Viet Nam’s role and contribution to BRICS development, while strengthening the voice of developing countries in addressing global issues.
This year’s BRICS Summit is themed “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability.” In 2026, BRICS cooperation will focus on four pillars: strengthening and diversifying global supply chains, promoting innovation, advancing reform of global governance institutions, and ensuring sustainable development.
These are all areas that closely align with Viet Nam’s development priorities. Prime Minister Le Minh Hung’s attendance at the summit will therefore provide an opportunity for Viet Nam to share its experience and promote practical cooperation initiatives in areas of common interest, while making use of BRICS mechanisms to strengthen cooperation in investment, trade, science and technology, innovation, and other fields in support of the country’s economic growth objectives. The summit will also provide an opportunity for Viet Nam to deepen cooperation with BRICS members and partner countries.
Prime Minister Le Minh Hung’s trip comes at an important juncture in the development of Viet Nam-India relations. The two countries recently upgraded their ties to an enhanced comprehensive strategic partnership during General Secretary and President To Lam’s state visit to India in May 2026 and are entering a new phase of cooperation marked by substantive progress across a wide range of areas.
Defence and security cooperation continues to deepen. Economically, India is currently Viet Nam’s eighth-largest trading partner, while Viet Nam is India’s fifth-largest partner in ASEAN.
Bilateral cooperation in science and technology, education and training, culture, and people-to-people exchanges has achieved positive results. However, there remains considerable room for further cooperation between Viet Nam and India. In this context, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung’s trip is an important opportunity to promote the substantive implementation of the enhanced Viet Nam-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and translate into concrete action the outcomes of General Secretary and President To Lam’s state visit to India.
The participation of Prime Minister Le Minh Hung, together with the high-level Vietnamese delegation, in the 18th BRICS Summit and bilateral engagements in India affirms Viet Nam’s strong support for multilateralism and conveys a message of solidarity, cooperation, and responsible contribution to peace, stability, and sustainable development. The broad space for cooperation with BRICS members and partner countries will provide important resources to help Viet Nam move forward with greater confidence on its development journey.
Through the trip, Viet Nam-India relations — a relationship with a long history and a valuable, shared asset of the two peoples — will continue to be nurtured, bringing tangible benefits to the development of both countries.
