Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs Innovates Thinking, Steadily Integrates

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs holds a conference to review the work of 2025 and outline the directions and tasks for 2026.

Attending and directing the conference were Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ngo Le Van; Standing Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Loc Ha; along with representatives from the City Command, City Police, various departments, and central agencies based in the city, as well as all officials, civil servants, and employees of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs.

Ho Chi Minh City's Foreign Affairs 2025: Elevating Status – Leading Integration

In his report at the conference, Acting Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs Pham Dut Diem emphasised that 2025 holds significant importance for the city's and Vietnam's foreign affairs amidst many major national and city events.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ngo Le Van delivers a directive speech at the conference. (Photo: Chu Van)

Thoroughly understanding the Party and State's guidelines and policies on foreign affairs and international integration, under the close attention and leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the City Party Committee, the People's Committee, and the People's Council of Ho Chi Minh City, the Department of Foreign Affairs has actively and proactively played its role as the focal point for state management of foreign affairs in the southern provinces. It also serves as the leading agency in advising and organising the city's foreign affairs, achieving comprehensive and positive results in political diplomacy, economic diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, foreign information and communication, consular work, and citizen protection. This reflects the close connection between the strategic orientation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the dynamic and creative nature of Ho Chi Minh City.

In 2025, political diplomacy saw new highlights, policy advisory work experienced positive changes, and the city's foreign affairs prestige and status were elevated through the successful organisation of major foreign events with the participation of many countries and international organisations.

Economic diplomacy was strongly promoted in a substantive, focused, and comprehensive manner on both bilateral and multilateral fronts, contributing to increasing resources for development. Cultural diplomacy and foreign information and communication were implemented comprehensively, deeply, and with significant impact.

The city continues to affirm its position as the southern region's foreign affairs centre, leading in comprehensive and effective international integration, significantly contributing to the implementation of an independent, self-reliant, multilateral, and diversified foreign policy for peace, friendship, cooperation, and development.

Standing Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Loc Ha speaks at the conference. (Photo: Chu Van)

Foreign Affairs and International Integration Implemented Comprehensively

Speaking at the conference, on behalf of the Ho Chi Minh City leadership, Standing Vice Chairman of the People's Committee Nguyen Loc Ha acknowledged and highly appreciated the efforts and comprehensive results achieved by the Department of Foreign Affairs in 2025. He particularly noted their advisory, coordination, and organisation of the city's foreign activities, contributing to the effective implementation of the independent, self-reliant, multilateral, and diversified foreign policy of the Party and State, while enhancing the role, status, and international image of Ho Chi Minh City.

Vice Chairman Nguyen Loc Ha emphasized that 2025 marks a historic milestone for Ho Chi Minh City, as on July 1, the city officially merged with Binh Duong and Ba Ria Vung Tau provinces, becoming an administrative unit with an area of over 6,770 km², a population of over 14 million, a GRDP of $120 billion, accounting for 23.6% of the national GDP, and contributing 33.4% of the national budget revenue. This affirms its position and stature as the largest economic, financial, scientific, technological, and foreign affairs centre in the country.

In this context, with the contributions of the city's foreign affairs advisory agencies, including the leading and coordinating role of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the city's foreign affairs and international integration continue to be implemented comprehensively and synchronously across the pillars of Party foreign affairs, State diplomacy, and People's diplomacy, with increasing scale, frequency, and quality.

Foreign Affairs and International Integration as "Key, Regular" Tasks

Acting Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs Pham Dut Diem. (Photo: Chu Van)

In his directive speech at the conference, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ngo Le Van affirmed the significant contributions and important role of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs in the city's foreign affairs and international integration over the past period. This is reflected in the regular and high-quality strategic research and policy advisory work, the increasingly professional and elevated organisation of large-scale political, economic, and cultural foreign events, and the well-implemented foreign information and communication, as well as consular work, with many highlights.

Deputy Minister Ngo Le Van emphasized that entering the new development era of the country, along with ensuring security and national defense, foreign affairs and international integration are identified by the Party and State as "key, regular" tasks, playing a "pioneering" role in creating and maintaining a peaceful and stable environment, mobilizing external resources for national development, and enhancing the country's position and prestige.

In the context of complex and unpredictable international and regional political-security developments, as well as the global economy's potential instability, the country's foreign affairs face numerous challenging tasks.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs achieves positive and comprehensive results. (Photo: Chu Van)

In the coming time, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs needs to continue enhancing its role and responsibility in the city's and the country's foreign affairs; promoting the spirit of "not avoiding difficult tasks, not waiting for new tasks, not shirking common tasks" as directed by the city leadership; continuing to elevate strategic research and advisory work, summarizing experiences to improve the effectiveness of foreign activities; focusing on thoroughly implementing and concretizing the foreign policy directions at the upcoming 14th National Party Congress, continuing to implement the Central's strategic resolutions, including Resolution 59 on international integration in the new situation; comprehensively promoting the pillars of Party foreign affairs, State diplomacy, People's diplomacy, specialized diplomacy; updating and perfecting the coordination regulations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ho Chi Minh City in directing the city's Department of Foreign Affairs...

2026: Innovating Thinking – Deepening Integration

Expressing gratitude and acknowledging the directives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ho Chi Minh City leadership, Acting Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs Pham Dut Diem stated that in the context of profound international, regional, and national changes, Ho Chi Minh City's foreign affairs face significant opportunities and challenges.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs plays a pioneering role, innovating in foreign affairs and international integration. (Photo: Chu Van)

Among these, the city's fundamental opportunities and advantages include the central government's special resolutions and policies for the city, the new position and potential of Ho Chi Minh City after the merger, and the high international community interest in a rapidly developing Ho Chi Minh City. However, there are also internal and external challenges for a "mega-city" with high openness, such as Ho Chi Minh City.

In this context, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs has set its action motto for 2026 as "Proactively Adapting – Pioneering Breakthroughs – Effective Substance – Steadily Integrating"; focusing on enhancing strategic advisory quality; promoting economic diplomacy linked with scientific and technological cooperation, innovation; leveraging cultural soft power; modernizing consular work with a people and business-centered approach; emphasizing the development of a bold, professional foreign affairs team to meet the deep international integration requirements as Ho Chi Minh City becomes a "global mega-city".

The collective of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs and delegates take a commemorative photo. (Photo: Chu Van)

Comrade Pham Dut Diem affirmed that, continuing the glorious tradition of 50 years of building and development, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs will continue to play a pioneering role in innovation and creativity in foreign affairs and international integration; comprehensively implementing the resolutions of the first City Party Congress and the 14th National Party Congress, along with the "four-pillar" strategic resolutions of the Politburo, contributing to building Ho Chi Minh City into a leading economic, financial, cultural, and scientific-technological center of the country and the region – a city for peace, cooperation, and sustainable development.

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