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By Saurabh Sharma<\/p>\n
NEW DELHI, May 5 (Reuters) – Vietnamese President To Lam is expected to discuss expanding defence ties with India \u200cduring a visit to New Delhi this week, including \u200cthe potential purchase of BrahMos missiles jointly developed with Russia, two sources said.<\/p>\n
India, which \u200bhas been building up domestic defence manufacturing for local use and exports, has already sold the supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines and signed a contract with Indonesia in March.<\/p>\n
A deal with Vietnam \u200ccould be worth about \u206060 billion rupees ($629 million), including training and logistical support, said one of the sources.<\/p>\n
India considers Vietnam a \u2060key part of its strategy to ensure stability in the Indo-Pacific region amid China’s growing influence.<\/p>\n
A third source said some defence cooperation announcements \u200bcould be \u200bmade during To Lam\u2019s May \u200b5\u20137 visit, though no signing \u200cof a weapons deal was expected.<\/p>\n
To Lam arrived on Tuesday in the eastern city of Bodh Gaya, a Buddhist pilgrimage site, on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
All the sources declined to be identified as they were not authorised to talk to the media on government negotiations.<\/p>\n
The foreign \u200cministries of India and Vietnam, as well as \u200bmissile maker BrahMos Aerospace, did not \u200bimmediately respond to requests \u200bfor comment. BrahMos is a joint venture between Indian \u200cand Russian government entities.<\/p>\n
Two-way trade \u200bbetween India and \u200bVietnam crossed $16 billion in the last fiscal year and both sides have been keen to expand economic ties.<\/p>\n
India has been \u200bhelping the Vietnamese military \u200cwith training and made it a gift of the \u200bindigenously built missile corvette Kirpan in 2023.<\/p>\n
($1=95.3575 Indian rupees)<\/p>\n
(Reporting \u200bby Saurabh Sharma; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n