Deputy FM Nguyen Manh Cuong: Proactive and effective implementation of the 14th Party Congress Resolution in foreign affairs
WVR - Member of the Party Central Committee, Permanent Deputy Secretary, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Manh Cuong affirmed that by inheriting the enduring foundations of foreign affairs over past decades, in the context of the nation's efforts to achieve double-digit growth and successfully accomplish the two centennial goals, the foreign policy of the 14th Congress has seen significant developments to more effectively serve the cause of building and safeguarding the Fatherland in the new era.
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| General Secretary To Lam, along with CPP Chairman Hun Sen and General Secretary, President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith, co-chaired the meeting of the heads of the three Parties of Vietnam - Cambodia – Laos on February 6. (Source: VNA) |
The 14th Party Congress has outlined major orientations for foreign affairs in the new development phase of the country. Could you highlight the important new aspects of the 14th Congress's foreign policy and its significance in the current context?
The foreign policy of the 14th National Party Congress reflects the inheritance of goals, principles, and guidelines affirmed through previous Congresses, while also incorporating new elements to meet the nation's needs amidst the global and regional changes of our era.
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| Member of the Party Central Committee, Permanent Deputy Secretary, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Manh Cuong. (Photo: Tuan Anh) |
First and foremost, the 14th National Party Congress reaffirms and continues the core elements of foreign affairs: independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation, development, multilateralization, and diversification. These have been the enduring foundations of foreign affairs for decades, contributing to maintaining the nation's peace, stability, and development. Building on these foundations, in the context of the nation's efforts to achieve double-digit growth and successfully accomplish the two centennial goals, the foreign policy of the 14th National Party Congress has seen significant developments to more effectively serve the cause of building and safeguarding the Fatherland in the new era.
Firstly, the Congress emphasizes the goal of "developing foreign affairs in the new era commensurate with the historical, cultural stature and position of the nation". As General Secretary To Lam emphasized: "Following Uncle Ho's example, we must keep pace with global movements, finding paths that bring peace, stability, prosperity, development, and build a higher, more solid position for the nation in the new era", we must further consolidate an open and favorable foreign affairs landscape for national development based on past achievements.
We are not only deepening, stabilizing, and substantively strengthening relationship frameworks but also actively participating and contributing more to addressing global issues. In bilateral cooperation mechanisms with countries, partners, as well as at regional and international multilateral forums, Vietnam's responsible contributions, voice, and prestige are strongly affirmed, clearly reflecting the identity, culture, and diplomatic style of Vietnam. This is the posture of a sincere, responsible Vietnam; always striving for peace, security, and development, addressing common issues of international concern; contributing to global politics, the global economy, and human civilization, worthy of the nation's heroic history of building and defending the country.
Secondly, our Party has supplemented the perspective of "self-reliance". This is a general guiding principle, crucial for foreign affairs. "Strategic-reliance" is a prerequisite for maintaining proactivity, independence in foreign affairs, ensuring the firm protection of national interests in a volatile world. This mindset originates from the movement laws of the Vietnamese revolution, consistent with President Ho Chí Minh's thought: "Self-reliance is primary, the assistance of friendly countries is important… we must use our own strength to solve our own affairs".
Thirdly, the 14th National Party Congress has affirmed the promotion of foreign affairs, international integration, along with strengthening national defense and security as "essential, regular" tasks. Accordingly, foreign affairs and international integration have become an important method, a regular, continuous task of paramount importance in building and defending the Fatherland. Foreign affairs and international integration not only play a crucial role in firmly protecting independence and sovereignty but also create an environment and favorable conditions for national development. This content also affirms that foreign affairs and international integration are the common cause of the entire Party, people, and army, a task of the entire political system, requiring proactive participation, close, synchronized coordination of all levels, sectors, and localities.
To realize the 14th National Party Congress's foreign policy, in your opinion, what key tasks should foreign affairs focus on to achieve the nation's strategic goals in the new era - the era of national rise?
Implementing the 14th National Party Congress's foreign policy requires proactivity, synchronization, and determination to quickly translate strategic orientations into concrete results. General Secretary To Lam emphasized, "the era of national rise implies creating a strong, decisive, determined, positive, effortful, self-confident movement to overcome challenges, surpass oneself, fulfill aspirations, reach goals, and achieve great accomplishments". At the National Conference on studying, learning, thoroughly grasping, and implementing the 14th Congress Resolution on February 7, Politburo Member, Party Secretary, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung delivered a very important speech on developing foreign affairs in the new era. Accordingly, foreign affairs work immediately after the Congress has several key tasks as follows:
Firstly, unify awareness throughout the political system about the mission, goals, and tasks of foreign affairs in the spirit of the 14th Congress, especially its "essential, regular" nature, throughout the political system. Dissemination and propaganda need to be widely implemented from the Central to each locality, spreading to our representative agencies and the community of over 6 million Vietnamese abroad, thereby creating a foundation of correct, comprehensive, and profound understanding, harnessing the combined strength of the great national unity bloc.
Secondly, promptly institutionalize and concretize the 14th National Party Congress's foreign policy, focusing on perfecting the Party's regulations on implementing foreign affairs and international integration, effectively operating the Politburo's Regulation 392 on unified management of foreign affairs activities, ensuring synchronized coordination throughout the system. Ministries, departments, and localities need to proactively build visions and action programs closely aligned with reality, quickly bringing strategic orientations to life.
Thirdly, build and implement a comprehensive foreign affairs strategy at a new height, leveraging the combined strength of the three pillars of Party diplomacy, State diplomacy, and People-to- diplomacy. Prioritize expanding and deepening the network of relationships, not only with traditional partners but also with potential partners like major technology corporations, to mobilize resources for development.
Development-serving diplomacy needs to be promoted with breakthrough thinking, focusing on economic and technological diplomacy, serving double-digit growth goals, promoting major national transformations, strategic infrastructure projects, using citizen and business satisfaction as a measure of effectiveness. Spread the soft power and cultural identity of Vietnam, affirming a renewing, developing Vietnam, striving to contribute to humanity's common goals. Enhance the quality of research, advisory, and forecasting, avoiding passivity and surprise in any situation; closely coordinate between foreign affairs, national defense, and security to firmly protect independence, sovereignty, and national interests, ensuring peace, security, stability, and favorable conditions for development.
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| Politburo Member, Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung, Special Envoy of General Secretary To Lam, held talks with Politburo Member, Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, Minister of Foreign Affairs of China Wang Yi, on February 3, 2026. (Photo: Bao Chi) |
Fourthly, allocate appropriate resources for foreign affairs, commensurate with the new position and strength of the nation and task requirements in the new situation; promptly complete decrees and legal documents related to concretizing the National Assembly's Resolution 250, invest in building modern, safe foreign affairs infrastructure, accelerate digital transformation and application of science-technology, innovate thinking and working methods towards professionalism and modernity.
Fifthly, build a comprehensive, modern, professional diplomacy, with a streamlined, effective, efficient organizational structure and a cadre team that is "both virtuous and talented", embodying morality, strength, talent, discipline, and courage, daring to think, to act, to innovate, meeting task requirements in the new era. Enhance training of expert teams, innovate cadre evaluation, perfect mechanisms for attracting, utilizing, rewarding, and valuing talents, especially focusing on enhancing foreign affairs and international integration capacity for strategic-level cadres.
Sixthly, strengthen synchronized, effective coordination between ministries, departments, localities, and forces involved in foreign affairs, along with proactive participation of businesses and the people. Promote local diplomacy and specialized forms of diplomacy such as technology diplomacy, environmental diplomacy, energy diplomacy; enhance information sharing, connectivity, and data sharing for research, advisory, and policy-making. Leverage the role of the people, localities, and businesses as subjects and beneficiaries of foreign affairs; enhance the responsibility of Vietnamese representative missions abroad in supporting, connecting, protecting the legitimate interests of the Vietnamese community abroad and promoting the image of a peaceful, renewing, developing Vietnam, ready to contribute more proactively and responsibly to the international community.
With the action spirit of the 14th National Party Congress Resolution, could you share the specific measures and actions the Party Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has taken to implement the Congress Resolution into life?
The Party Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs clearly understands the spirit directed by General Secretary Tô Lâm, which is the determination to act swiftly and decisively from the beginning of the term "not to waste a day, not to delay a week". With this understanding, the Party Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has proactively developed an Action Program integrating "3 in 1" to synchronously and effectively implement the 14th Party Congress Resolution, the 1st Government Party Congress Resolution, and the 1st Ministry of Foreign Affairs Party Congress. Currently, the Standing Committee of the Party Committee has updated and supplemented the Action Program and will soon submit it to the Party Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for approval to organize synchronized, comprehensive implementation.
The Action Program is built with many heartfelt, responsible, and collective intellectual contributions from all units within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The main contents are groups of tasks related to bilateral diplomacy, multilateral diplomacy, development-serving economic diplomacy, border and territorial work, cultural diplomacy, overseas Vietnamese affairs, citizen protection, external information, research, forecasting, strategic advisory, Party building, foreign affairs sector building… in which key and breakthrough tasks are clearly identified. Through this Action Program, we affirm a deep understanding of the mission of foreign affairs in the new era, a strong spirit of innovation in both thinking and methods of foreign affairs implementation, and a determination to enhance the capacity of the entire sector.
The Party Committee of the Ministry also focuses on directing units within the Ministry to coordinate with relevant agencies to institutionalize and concretize the 14th Congress's foreign policy through specific guidelines and orientations. At the same time, we clearly identify that, along with thoroughly grasping the Congress Resolution, foreign affairs tasks need to be carried out with a very urgent action spirit. Within just two weeks after the Congress, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has implemented a series of foreign affairs activities of Party and State Leaders with many friends and partners, including General Secretary To Lam's phone talks with the General Secretary, President of China, President of Russia, President of Republic of Korea, Prime Minister of Singapore, state visits to Laos and Cambodia; Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung's visit to China as the Special Envoy of the General Secretary…
I am confident that, with the attention and close direction of Party and State Leaders, the close coordination of all levels and sectors, and the efforts of the entire Foreign Affairs sector, we will complete the assigned foreign affairs tasks, contributing to effectively implementing the 14th Party Congress Resolution, contributing to the nation's strong development in the new development era.
Thank you very much!
