Deputy Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Truong Thang led senior officials in extended discussions with Israeli companies at the exhibition

A police officer stands in front of red flags used to decorate a street, in Hanoi, Vietnam, August 30, 2025.

(photo credit: REUTERS/ATHIT PERAWONGMETHA)

ByDEAN SHMUEL ELMAS/GLOBES/TNS

JULY 9, 2026 08:20

Even though French President Emmanuel Macron prohibited an Israeli national pavilion and limited the items Israeli defense firms could show at the Eurosatory defense and security exhibition in Paris last month, reports highlight substantial Vietnamese interest in Israeli technologies.

Deputy Minister Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Truong Thang guided senior Vietnamese officials who spent considerable time engaging with Israeli companies present at the event as well as those unable to participate directly.

Vietnamese attention toward Israeli defense industries continues a pattern reflected in data from the Ministry of Defense international defense cooperation division (SIBAT). In 2025 defense exports hit a record $19.2 billion with Asia-Pacific rising from 23 percent to 32 percent of the total.

Cooperation with Vietnam intensified during the recent conflict as the country supplied explosives and industrial materials to defense manufacturers amid growing restrictions from Western nations.

Israeli firm 4Model recently concluded an exclusive agreement with Vietnam's Dong Nam to deliver solutions in precision chip processing, advanced castings, forging, electronic packaging and complex component production. Israeli companies previously depended on supply chains in India, Bulgaria and Czechia.

The Defense Export Control Agency (DECA) supports contacts with Vietnam partly because the United States serves as a key customer for regional bases. Major Israeli firms require adherence to Western quality standards that Vietnamese partners already meet through work with American entities.

Vietnam also purchases defense equipment independently though on a smaller scale than India, Israel's largest defense client. Transactions include Elbit tank upgrades and Rafael Spike missile sales. In February reports noted that Vietnam's Ministry of Defense finalized a roughly $250 million contract with Rafael for Firefly loitering munitions used by the IDF. The deal includes local production in a Vietnamese facility.