Artists from each country will design their country's stamps and exchange them to create a stamp set of 2 samples to contribute to introducing and promoting the image of the country, people and culture of Vietnam and India.

Delegates performing the special launching ceremony of the "Joint postage stamp between India and Vietnam" (Photo: VGP/HM)

Vietnam and India have a long-standing close and warm friendship. On 7th January 1972, Vietnam and India officially established full diplomatic relations and were upgraded to a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2016.

In order to contribute to introducing and promoting the image of the country, people and culture of Vietnam and India, the Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam and the Ministry of Communications of India decided to issue a set of "Joint postage stamp between India and Vietnam" including 02 stamp samples.

Thereby, Vietnam introduced the Vovinam martial art and India introduced the Kalaripayattu martial art. Artists from each country will design their country's stamp designs and exchange them to create a set of 2 stamps.

Two stamp samples were issued by the Vietnam Post Office

Stamp set 2-1: Kalaripayattu, also known simply as Kalari, is an Indian martial art originating from present-day Kerala, a state on the southwest coast of India. Kalaripayattu is known for its long history in Indian martial arts spanning over 3,000 years. Kalaripayattu developed into its present form in the 6th century during the long period of war between the Chera and Chola dynasties. Kalaripayattu includes punches, kicks, knockdowns, use of weapons and methods of treating injuries. For this martial art, dexterity, speed, and agility are the factors that determine the winning or losing outcome of the fight.

Stamp set 2-2: Introducing the martial art Vovinam (full name Vovinam Viet Vo Dao) founded by master Nguyen Loc in 1936, with the desire to improve the self-defence and fighting ability of the Vietnamese people in the overthrow of the French colonialists. Vovinam was developed based on traditional Vietnamese wrestling, combining the essence of other martial arts around the world, famous for its neck-snapping and high-flying attacks. Having gone through many ups and downs, today, Vovinam has gradually become one of the unique cultural features, strongly popular nationwide and being introduced internationally, contributing to promoting the image of the country and people of Vietnam. The stamp design uses a blue background to create harmony with the colour of the martial arts uniform and the flexibility of the martial arts stance.

The stamp set was designed by artist Brahma Prakash (India) and artist Pham Trung Ha (Vietnam), priced at VND 4,000 and VND 15,000, stamp size 43 x 32 (mm), available on the postal network from 16th October 2023 to 30th June 2025.

Previously, on 25th January 2018, in Ha Noi, the Ministry of Information and Communications of Vietnam coordinated with the Ministry of Communications of India to issue a set of "Jointly postage stamps: Vietnam-India." This is an activity commemorating 45 years of establishing diplomatic relations, 10 years of establishing strategic partnership and 1 year of establishing comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and India. In particular, this stamp set was also issued in New Delhi (the capital of India).

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