Sirsha Gupta

The world today is divided into multiple silos, each led by a country or a group of nations which try to influence the international order in their own way. In this increasingly multipolar world, Vietnam's foreign policy is an example of remaining agile in nature, wherein Hanoi is balancing the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with the US, while also being an important partner country in BRICS. Vietnam's participation at the recent 18th BRICS Summit at New Delhi marks a decisive moment. Far from being a passive observer, Vietnam delivered a clear pledge to actively support, shape, and energize the bloc's collective agenda. The summit highlighted not only Vietnam's commitment to South-South cooperation, but also the compelling two-way dynamics between Hanoi and the expanded membership of the grouping.

The Road to Partnership: From Kazan to Formal Status

Vietnam was formally integrated into BRICS post the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia, where the bloc created the "Partner Country" category. The partner country category was created to accommodate rapidly developing high potential economies without putting additional pressure or altering the core decision making powers of Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa. The trajectory of Vietnam as a partner country took off in mid-2025, when Vietnam joined a select cohort of partner nations alongside Southeast Asian neighbours Malaysia and Thailand, as well as nations like Nigeria, Kazakhstan, and Cuba. Although some critics call it an ideological decision and even an impulsive one since Malaysia and Thailand were joining, it was definitely not so. Rather, it was a logical conclusion to Vietnam's "bamboo diplomacy" which is firm in roots, yet flexible in branches.

Having already established Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships with the world's major powers, including China, the United States, India, Russia, Japan, and South Korea, partnering with BRICS enables Hanoi to anchor itself inside the primary engine of the Global South while maintaining strict non-alignment in the growing US-China rivalry, especially in the Indo-Pacific.

Importance of BRICS for Vietnam and Likewise

For Vietnam, participating in BRICS provides critical economic, financial, and diplomatic leverage. It is not only instrumental for its economic growth but also helps it to place itself in a strategic position with regard to its role and influence in Southeast Asia. Vietnam is a producer country and relies heavily on exports for sustenance of its economy, and it is a crucial part of the global supply chains. Vietnam is highly vulnerable to the fluctuations in Western demand and tariff pressures that the US keeps imposing on the Global South economies. BRICS economies encompass over 50% of the world's population. Deepening trade corridors with Brazil, India, South Africa, and West Asian members provides alternative, tariff-resilient export destinations for Vietnamese consumer electronics, textiles, agricultural commodities, and seafood. On the other hand, bringing Vietnam into the BRICS ecosystem links the bloc directly into high-value East Asian production networks and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) which will help increase the volume of trade between the BRICS nations and Vietnam.

Through the BRICS partnership, Vietnam also has got the vital proximity to emerging South-South financial mechanisms, including the New Development Bank (NDB) which is being developed as a parallel institution to the World Bank and IMF, which is instrumental for offering financial services and aid without imposing political conditionalities. Most of South and Southeast Asia still do not have access to advanced technology and digital public infrastructure. Through BRICS collaborative networks Vietnam has the opportunity to collaborate with peers like India and China to accelerate its digital transition and build resilient semiconductor and green technology ecosystems.

The 2026 BRICS Summit: Vietnam's Pledge of Deeper Engagement

The 18th BRICS Summit held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on September 12-13, 2026 with India as the Chairman under the theme "Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability", gathered member states and partner countries to address rising geopolitical friction, protectionism, and fragmented trade. Prime Minister Le Minh Hung delivered an address that affirmed Vietnam's intention to be an active contributor rather than an observer in BRICS. Vietnam made a clear pledge to mobilize its institutional resources in support of BRICS initiatives across three core pillars, namely transitioning to endogenous resilience, championing open trade and equitable transition finance in the regions as well as increased cooperation in science and technology.

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung called on BRICS to shift from reactive crisis responses toward building systemic domestic and regional resilience. Hanoi pledged to share its experience in macroeconomic stability and risk governance. In his address he also urged BRICS to counter unilateral trade restrictions by upholding transparent, non-discriminatory, rules-based trade. Furthermore, Hanoi called on multilateral development banks affiliated with BRICS to expand concessional, low-interest green financing to help developing nations meet net-zero goals without sacrificing industrial growth.

Vietnam also proposed transforming high-level technological discussions into concrete, cross-border research and commercial projects. Specifically, Vietnam offered its research facilities and technology parks to collaborate on artificial intelligence ethics, digital agriculture, semiconductor talent upskilling, and clean energy storage, pledging active participation in the iBRICS Network and joint STI framework programs.

Vietnam's increased cooperation with BRICS and in pledging its alliance to BRICS has raised questions about whether Vietnam is abandoning its policy of strategic autonomy or its policy of not aligning with one group against another. However, this is not the case, it is just one side of the entire situation. Vietnam continues to maintain its strategic autonomy and collaborate with multiple groupings across the world.

The Road Ahead

Vietnam's participation and commitments at the 18th BRICS Summit demonstrate that partner country status is a platform for meaningful, reciprocal contribution. By supplying industrial expertise and dynamic behaviour, ASEAN connectivity, and diplomatic moderation to BRICS while securing trade diversification, development finance, and technological cooperation in return, Vietnam exemplifies how middle powers can author their own paths in an era of multipolar complexity.

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Sirsha Gupta is a Master's Student at Nalanda University. Currently she is doing internship with Centre for Vietnam Studies, New Delhi.