33rd Diplomatic Conference: Standing Member of the Secretariat Tran Cam Tu attends Plenary session on Party diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy
WVR - On the morning of August 5, in Hanoi, within the framework of the 33rd Diplomatic Conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized a plenary session on Party diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy in a hybrid format with 34 provinces and cities nationwide and the Vietnamese Representative Missions abroad.
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| Politburo Member, Standing Member of the Secretariat Tran Cam Tu attends the session. (Photo: Quang Hoa) |
Attending the session were Politburo Member, Standing Member of the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee Tran Cam Tu, Party Central Committee Member, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Hong.
Also in attendance were Party Central Committee Members: Dang Khanh Toan, Deputy Chief of the Party Central Committee's Office; Nguyen Thanh Lam, Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee's Commission for Information and Education, General Director of Vietnam Television; Duong Trung Y, Editor-in-Chief of the Communist Review; Le Hai Binh, Vice President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics; Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Truong Thang, Deputy Minister of National Defence; Senior Lieutenant General Le Van Tuyen, Deputy Minister of Public Security.
The session also saw the participation of leaders and representatives from central agencies; the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front; political-social organizations; people's organizations assigned tasks by the Party and State; along with leaders and representatives from provincial and city Party committees.
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| Overview of the session. (Photo: Quang Hoa) |
From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there were Politburo Member, Party Secretary of the Ministry, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung, former Politburo Member, former Deputy Prime Minister, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Gia Khiem.
The session also included former Ministers of Foreign Affairs, former Heads of the Party Central Committee's Commission for External Affairs: former Party Central Committee Member, former Deputy Prime Minister, former Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son; former Party Central Committee Member, former Head of the Party Central Committee's Commission for External Affairs Nguyen Van Son; former Party Central Committee Member, former Head of the Party Central Committee's Commission for External Affairs Hoang Binh Quan.
Also present were Party Central Committee Members; Deputy Ministers, former Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs; former Deputy Heads of the Party Central Committee's Commission for External Affairs; leaders of units under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Heads of Vietnamese Representative Missions abroad, along with representatives from ministries, departments, and localities.
Affirming the important role of Party diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy in the Vietnamese comprehensive diplomatic framework
In his opening remarks at the plenary session on Party diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy, Politburo Member, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung emphasised that this is an opportunity to reaffirm the role of Party and people’s diplomacy within the comprehensive Vietnamese diplomatic framework. It also serves as a platform to discuss the current situation, emerging issues, and identify solutions to enhance effective implementation in the future. The Foreign Minister highlighted the spirit of the session as “deeply examining the practical situation, accurately identifying new requirements, and proposing specific measures that can be immediately transformed into action after the Conference”.
The Minister assessed that under the leadership and direction of the Party and State leaders, and the coordination of agencies within the political system, Party diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy has achieved significant results in recent times. Party diplomacy has laid an important political foundation for expanding and deepening our relations with other countries, making them more stable, substantive, and sustainable. It has also contributed to Vietnam’s flexible adaptation to the rapid, unpredictable changes in the global situation.
Notably, the Party channel continues to assert its crucial, decisive role in consolidating the political foundation, guiding and directing Vietnam’s relations with socialist countries and neighbouring countries sharing borders, including China, Laos, Cambodia, Cuba, and Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
High-level Party diplomatic activities also help guide relationships with important partners, facilitating proactive foreign policy decisions, opening up broad cooperation spaces for the country, and enhancing the position and role of the Party and the nation on the international stage.
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| Politburo Member, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung delivers the opening speech. (Photo: Quang Hoa) |
According to the Foreign Minister, people’-to-people diplomacy continues to promote the tradition of peace, flexibility, and solidarity; contributing to fostering friendship between the Vietnamese people and people of other countries, maintaining an international network of friends, promoting people-to-people cooperation, local cooperation, cultural exchanges, education, youth, women, intellectuals, businesses, overseas Vietnamese, humanitarian activities, and post-war recovery. In many issues, the support of international friends and people’s forces continues to be a valuable encouragement, helping the world understand and connect more closely with Vietnam.
The Minister also acknowledged the efforts of the Party committees, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, political-social organizations, people’s organizations, localities, and Vietnamese Representative Missions abroad in implementing Party diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy. After restructuring the organizational apparatus, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs quickly took on tasks, maintained work rhythm, strengthened coordination with relevant agencies and organizations, ensuring uninterrupted foreign activities and gradually moving into a new order.
Addressing the requirements of foreign affairs in the new development phase of the country, the Foreign Minister emphasised that in the context of major global changes of the era, rapid, complex, unstable, and unpredictable developments, while Vietnam enters a new development phase with high demands for growth, science-technology, innovation, digital transformation, green development, and enhancing national competitiveness, diplomacy must continue to play a pioneering role and a crucial, regular task in maintaining a peaceful, stable environment, serving more directly for development, mobilizing development resources, and protecting the Fatherland from afar.
According to the Foreign Minister, this requires a strong shift from correct perception to good organization and implementation, from isolated activities to synchronized coordination, from relationship connection to creating very specific results.
To enhance the effectiveness of work in the future, the Foreign Minister suggested that delegates focus on exchanging and proposing specific, feasible solutions to better promote the role of Party diplomacy to “truly be the political foundation, guiding overall foreign relations, playing a core role in strategic orientation, policy, and foreign policy”; strongly innovate people’s diplomacy towards proactivity, creativity, connection, and directly serving development tasks; enhance coordination efficiency between Party diplomacy, state diplomacy, and people-to-people diplomacy; and further promote the role of Vietnamese Representative Missions abroad in research, understanding the situation, implementing Party diplomacy, people’s diplomacy, and promoting connections between domestic and international spheres.
Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung expressed his hope to hear the guidance of the Standing Member of the Secretariat on Party diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy, considering it an important orientation for the Foreign Affairs Sector and all levels, sectors, and localities to thoroughly understand and concretize into practice, contributing to improving the quality and effectiveness of Party diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy in the coming time.
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| Politburo Member, Standing Member of the Secretariat Tran Cam Tu takes a photo with Ministry of Foreign Affairs leaders at the plenary session on Party diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy. (Photo: Quang Hoa) |
Leveraging the strength of three pillars, building a comprehensive, modern diplomacy
In his directive speech at the session, Standing Member of the Secretariat Tran Cam Tu affirmed that the 13th National Party Congress has set the task and direction of foreign affairs as: “Building a comprehensive, modern diplomacy with three pillars: Party diplomacy, state diplomacy, and people-to-people diplomacy”. This is an important milestone, a new development in the thinking about Vietnamese diplomacy.
According to Politburo member Tran Cam Tu, the implementation of foreign affairs tasks in Vietnamese diplomacy through historical periods has always involved the full participation and coordinated efforts of all three pillars, making significant contributions to the struggle for national independence, unification, nation-building, and defense, maintaining a peaceful, stable environment; protecting national independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity; breaking the siege and embargo, gradually building a favorable foreign relations landscape for reconstruction; mobilizing external resources to serve development tasks and enhancing the international reputation and position of the Party and the country.
In recent times, strategic advisory work, orientation in building foreign policy, guidelines, and decisions on important foreign affairs issues have become increasingly effective.
Regarding Party diplomacy, we have made breakthroughs in expanding and deepening relationships; affirming the crucial, decisive role in consolidating the political foundation, guiding, and directing state relations with other countries. Countries have a fuller understanding of the leadership role and governance methods of our Party, respecting Vietnam’s political system.
People-to-people diplomacy has seen positive changes in thinking, content, and methods of operation. The network of partners is increasingly expanding, participation in regional and international people’s mechanisms is more proactive and substantive. External information work, public opinion mobilization, mobilizing international resources for development, promoting the image of the country and people of Vietnam continue to achieve significant results, contributing to strengthening the social foundation and creating a favorable international environment for the cause of national construction and defense.
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| Politburo Member, Standing Member of the Secretariat Tran Cam Tu delivers a directive speech. (Photo: Quang Hoa) |
“The above results are due to the correct, wise, tight, and regular leadership of the Party Central Committee, directly led by the Politburo, the Secretariat, the General Secretary, and the President; the proactive, flexible administration of the State; the involvement and active implementation of all levels, sectors, and localities, especially the Foreign Affairs sector,” Politburo member Tran Cam Tu emphasised.
He believes that with the glorious tradition of the Foreign Affairs sector, with political bravery, intelligence, solidarity, innovation, and the aspiration to contribute, the forces engaged in foreign affairs will continue to play a core role, closely coordinate, creating a comprehensive, modern diplomatic strength, contributing to the successful implementation of the 14th Party Congress Resolution, leading the country to further development, continuously consolidating and enhancing its position, role, and prestige on the international stage.
On behalf of the Organizing Committee and all delegates attending the Conference, Politburo Member, Party Secretary of the Ministry, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung expressed sincere thanks and absorbed the comprehensive, profound directives of the Standing Member of the Secretariat.
Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung stressed that the Standing Member of the Secretariat has deeply analyzed and assessed the role and contributions of Party diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy throughout the Vietnamese revolutionary process, especially the achievements in recent times; while acknowledging and commending the agencies, organizations, localities, and officials directly involved in Party and people’s diplomacy. Additionally, the Standing Member of the Secretariat also pointed out the limitations that need to be addressed, identifying directions, tasks, and policies that need to be focused on in the future, based on thoroughly grasping the guiding thoughts of the General Secretary, President at the opening session of the 33rd Diplomatic Conference.
Furthermore, according to Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, recently, under the decision of the Standing Member of the Secretariat, Vietnam has implemented a number of training programs for officials from African and Latin American countries. During the co-chairing of this Conference, the Standing Member of the Secretariat also directed the expansion of these programs in a more practical and effective direction, allowing trainees not only to study at training institutions but also to directly understand the country’s development practices through working with ministries, sectors, localities, businesses, and facilities.
The Foreign Minister expressed gratitude to the agencies, units, and localities for actively coordinating and facilitating delegations of trainees from Laos, Cambodia, African, and Latin American countries to research, conduct field surveys, meet local leaders, businesses, and directly understand the achievements as well as the challenges in Vietnam’s development process. These are meaningful activities that contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of cooperation and training programs.
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| Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung thanks and presents flowers to Standing Member of the Secretariat Tran Cam Tu. (Photo: Quang Hoa) |
Addressing the role of Party diplomacy in promoting international cooperation, Minister Le Hoai Trung shared that in many countries, especially in Africa, the Party diplomacy channel has helped pave the way, remove obstacles, and create favorable conditions for the investment and business activities of Vietnamese enterprises. In many countries, the leadership systems of ruling parties play a decisive role in policy formulation and implementation, so strengthening relations through the Party channel not only helps consolidate political relations but also lays a favorable foundation for promoting economic, trade, and other cooperation.
On behalf of the Party Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung sincerely thanked the regular attention, leadership, and direction of the Politburo, the Secretariat, directly the General Secretary, the President, and the Standing Member of the Secretariat for foreign affairs.
The Minister also thanked the companionship and coordination of ministries, departments, localities, and delegates attending the conference, expressing confidence that the discussions and practical experiences shared at the conference will continue to contribute to enhancing the effectiveness of Party and people’s diplomacy in the future.
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| The discussion session moderated by Party Central Committee Member, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Manh Cuong. (Photo: Quang Hoa) |
Held within the framework of the 33rd Diplomatic Conference, the plenary session on Party diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy focused on clarifying the requirement to leverage the combined strength of the three diplomatic pillars during the implementation phase of the 14th Party Congress Resolution. The opinions affirmed the strategic guiding role of Party diplomacy and the soft power of people’s diplomacy in maintaining a peaceful, stable environment, expanding development space, and enhancing the nation’s position.
Many presentations shared practical experiences from localities and agencies, such as the role of the Vietnam Fatherland Front in gathering, guiding activities, developing the workforce, and strengthening coordination among forces engaged in people’s diplomacy; creating a network of people’s partners in the new situation from the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, the experience of Lang Son province in building a “security-development belt” in the border area; the experience of promoting the role of people’s diplomacy in spreading the image and values of Vietnam, transforming cultural diplomacy, heritage diplomacy into endogenous resources for socio-economic development in Hue city, solutions to expand the network of people’s partners, connect traditional international friends and new partners to enhance national soft power...
Vietnamese Representative Missions abroad also shared experiences in implementing Party diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy in key areas such as China, South Africa, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and Argentina, emphasizing the need to enhance strategic advisory capacity, consolidate the political foundation, expand people-to-people exchanges, promote substantive cooperation, and proactively create favorable conditions for national development in the new international context.
