Imprints of external information services
During the two years since the 31st Diplomatic Conference, external information services have been continually identified by our Party as one of the important tasks, creating synergy, contributing to establishing and maintaining an environment of peace, stability, mobilization of external resources to serve the cause of innovation, firmly protect independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity while enhancing the country’s position.
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Since the 31st Diplomatic Conference, over the past two years, the Party has considered external information and communication works as one of the important tasks that enables synergy and contributes to the formation and maintenance of a peaceful and stable environment, mobilization of external resources to serve the cause of innovation, firmly protect independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, and elevation of the country’s position.
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| Delegates co-chaired the national conference on studying and implementing the Politburo’s Conclusion No. 57-KL/TW dated June 15, 2023, on continuing to improve the quality and efficiency of external information service in the new situation. (Ảnh: Anh Sơn) |
Specific and strong innovation
Changes in the global situation and the development of information technologies present both new opportunities and challenges, thus requiring external information and communication works to adapt and adjust to keep up with current trends.
At the 31st Diplomatic Conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposed concrete measures and directions for external information and communication works, specifically to “strongly innovate the content and methods of deploying external information and communication, contribute to building the country’s soft power.” With innovation in implementation, external information and communication works have helped the international community clearly and correctly understand the guidelines and policies of our Party and State; share and support Vietnam’s views on international issues; promote the image of the country, its people, history, culture and the country’s development achievements.
Firstly, consolidate, strengthen, and perfect the direction, administration, and coordination work within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on external information and communication works with proactive and Government-approved proposals, adding tasks “take charge over the implementation of external information and communication on foreign affairs activities” within the functions and tasks of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assigned in Decree No. 81/2022/ND-CP in 2022. At the same time, making projects and plans on external information and communication works so that ministries, departments, branches, localities and Vietnamese representative missions deploy it in a unified, synchronous and comprehensive manner.
Second, promote communication about foreign affairs activities of the Party and State leaders on bilateral and multilateral levels with various new forms of implementation, contributing to building Vietnam’s image and fostering domestic and international public opinion support for Vietnam. Major foreign affairs events such as the historic visit of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong to China, upgrading relations with the United States, Japan, and Republic of Korea, elevating the level of relations with other countries along with expanding diplomatic relations with 193 countries have created a favorable external affairs situation and have been widely covered in media, helping to create consensus among the people for Vietnam’s foreign affairs, contributing to strengthening the image and consolidating the country’s international position.
Third, promote communication activities on the country and people of Vietnam, especially great and historically significant achievements; the spirit of great national solidarity, rich and diverse culture, imbued with national identity; the loyal, friendly, and peace-loving Vietnamese people; at the same time, actively fight and effectively refute false information, lack of objectivity about the political, economic, social situation, and unfounded distorted information about the ensuring Vietnam’s human rights, information that violates the country’s sovereignty over seas and islands, especially on the East Sea issue, fabricated and false information aimed at undermining the great national unity bloc.
Fourth, promote the work of enlisting foreign reporters, creating the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ “own brand” of cooperation with foreign reporters in Vietnam, through foreign press channels to bring all-round information to the international community. Over the past two years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has coordinated to organize 13 field trips for foreign reporters residing in Vietnam and press attaches of foreign representative missions in Vietnam to localities with diverse topic and focus, suitable to the needs of external communication of each locality and of the time, highly appreciated by localities and foreign media for its significance and effectiveness. In the past two years, we have welcomed more than 500 foreign journalist delegations with nearly 3,000 reporters into Vietnam.
Fifth, actively research communication trends, gradually implement digital transformation, develop a social network ecosystem in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, organize online information forms, and digitize administrative procedures related to external information and communication works to promptly adjust the content and methods of communication, bringing information and images about Vietnam to a larger number of people of domestic audience and international friends.
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| Representatives of foreign news agencies residing in Vietnam had a field trip to Dak Lak to learn about the province's economic and social development potential from September 16-18, 2023. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
Guidelines for the coming time
In the coming years, competition on the information front will become fiercer, and changes in the media environment will happen in a faster pace. Faced with fierce challenges and increasing requirements for external information and communication work, Conclusion No. 57-KL/TW dated June 15, 2023 of the Politburo on continuing to improve the quality and efficiency of external information and communication works in the new era was issued, carrying the meaning of a “guideline”, or a “lodestar”, creating a new framework for implementing external information and communication works in the new situation.
With the motto “proactive, synchronous, timely, creative and effective”, together with regular tasks and activities, in the coming time, in deploying new directions, orientations and spirit of the 32th Diplomatic Conference, the external information and communication works of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs needs to focus on the following tasks:
Firstly, continue to raise awareness of diplomatic officials about the importance of external information and communication work, placing external information and communication works alongside political diplomacy, economic diplomacy and cultural diplomacy; as follows, proactively and actively deploy and coordinate “cooperative team” among units within the Ministry, between domestic agencies and Vietnamese representative missions abroad, between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and units in the board of external information and communication teams such as the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Education and Information, Commission for External Relations, Ministry of Information and Communications.
Second, continue to create content, innovate methods and forms of implementing external information and communication works in a professional, modern, and up-to-date trend manner; considers digital transformation and application of information technology to external information and communication works as key and urgent tasks.
Third, focus on communication work on issues that are strengths and “specialties” of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs such as Vietnam’s foreign affairs activities, communication campaign to protect sovereignty and territorial integrity, and citizen protection work, etc; making and telling impressive and convincing media stories with the goal of bringing positive information and images about Vietnam to more and more people around the world.
Fourth, continue to improve the quality of monitoring, research, and forecasting public opinion, to strengthen external information and communication about positive content and content of public opinion of interest, and at the same time defuse and effectively fight against negative information, negative news, distorted and anti-Vietnam rhetoric.
Fifth, improve the quality of staff training in external information and communication work.
In the spirit of Conclusion 57-KL/TW of the Politburo, with the close and thorough direction of the Party and State leaders, the leaders of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and based on close coordination with other units within the Ministry, among domestic agencies and Vietnamese representative missions abroad, the coordination among the main forces in the external information and communication team, the external information and communication works will certainly have new steps forward, making a significant contribution to the achievements of the diplomatic service in particular and the country’s achievements in general.
