"Hello to Hanoi! PM @narendramodi makes a late night arrival in Vietnam to begin the first leg of his 2 nation tour," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted.
This is the first prime ministerial bilateral visit from India to Vietnam in 15 years after the visit of then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2001.
On Saturday, PM visited Monument of National Heroes and Martyrs and payed his homage. He also visited the presidential palace, where he received a ceremonial welcome.
Later in the day Prime Minister Modi will meet the top Vietnamese leadership, including General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong, President Tran Dai Quang, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.
Later in the day, he will depart for Hangzhou in China where he will attend this year's G-20 summit on September 4-5.