Party’s external relations: Significant contribution made at multilateral forums of political parties

The Communist Party of Viet Nam's external relations have been constantly expanding and deepening not only in bilateral relations but also at multilateral forum of political parties.
Quang cảnh Hội nghị trực tuyến. (Nguồn: TTXVN)
Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations Le Hoai Trung chaired a teleconference on June 24 to brief about the outcomes of the 13th National Party Congress to the The Left party of Germany. (Source: VNA)

In recent years, the party's external relations, together with state diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy, have earned great achievements in promoting their pioneering role in maintaining peaceful and stable environment, taking advantage of external resources to boost the country's position and prestige in the international arena.

The Communist Party of Viet Nam has actively participated in many international forums of political parties such as the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), the Asia-Europe Political Forum (AEPF) within the framework of cooperation between ICAPP and political parties in the Europe, the International Meeting of Communist and Workers' Parties (IMCWP), Sao Paulo Forum, and a great number of conferences and seminars of political parties in Asian and Southeast Asian region.

Among them, ICAPP is one of the most prominent forums.

An important multilateral forum

Being established in September 2000 in Manila, Philippines, ICAPP has contributed to promoting the cause of peace, security and development in the region and over the world.

Among the challenges facing ICAPP during the early days of its establishment is the diversity of cultures and political ideologies of ICAPP's members.

Few people thought that ICAPP could bring together political parties with different ideologies under one roof to discuss and find solutions to regional and international political problems.

But during the last 20 years, ICAPP has become an important multilateral forum which is indispensable in the political life of parties in Asia.

The number of political parties in the region participating in ICAPP activities has increased significantly, from 40 political parties from 21 countries in 2000 to nearly 300 political parties from more than 50 countries by 2021.

ICAPP's agenda and discussion cover every aspect of people's lives in Asia such as poverty reduction, natural disasters and environmental protection, climate change and diseases, COVID-19 pandemic, women’s empowerment.

ICAPP also expands inter-regional cooperation with political party organizations in other regions such as the Conference of Political Parties in Latin America and the Caribbean (COPPAL) and the Council of African Political Parties (CAPP).

The organizational model of ICAPP has been learned by political parties in Africa and Latin America.

Effective contributions

The Communist Party of Viet Nam has officially participated in ICAPP's activities since 2000 and has been elected as a member of the ICAPP Standing Committee for many years. The ICAPP Standing Committee is composed of representatives of political parties from twenty-three countries in the region.

Đoàn đại biểu Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam, do bà Nguyễn Thị Hoàng Vân, Phó Trưởng Ban Đối ngoại Trung ương làm Trưởng đoàn, dự cuộc họp lần thứ 36 của Uỷ ban thường trực ICAPP, ngày 3/9/2021. (Ảnh: DLH)
A Vietnamese delegation led by Nguyen Thi Hoang Van, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for External Relations, attended the 36th meeting of the Standing Committee of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties (ICAPP), held online on September 3. (Photo: DLH)

The task of the ICAPP Standing Committee is to make decisions on the political party to host ICAPP activities, main theme, and sub-themes of conferences and seminars, and to arrange other work related to the ICAPP agenda.

As a member of the ICAPP Standing Committee, the Communist Party of Viet Nam has made substantive and effective contribution to ICAPP's activities such as successfully hosting the 19th Meeting of the ICAPP Standing Committee in April 2013 - the first time the Communist Party of Viet Nam has hosted an international political party conference.

In addition, the Communist Party of Viet Nam also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support ICAPP's activities and proposed many initiatives to promote the implementation of ICAPP's priority projects and objectives.

Senior leaders of ICAPP paid working visits in Viet Nam, consulted the leaders of the Communist Party of Viet Nam on important issues related to the annual ICAPP program as well as the development of ICAPP in the future.

In recognition of the important contributions of the Communist Party of Viet Nam to ICAPP, in a letter to the 13th National Party Congress of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, ICAPP's Founding Chairman, Hon. Jose de Venecia, wrote: “As a member of the ICAPP Standing Committee, the Communist Party of Viet Nam has made important contributions to the organization’s mission of enhancing mutual understanding and deepening trust in Asia.

Also, the Communist Party of Viet Nam’s active participation in the ICAPP activities has emphasized the unique role and channel of political parties in promoting peace and prosperity in the region. As such, I and the members of ICAPP hope to continue the dialogue, partnership and friendship with the Communist Party of Viet Nam to tackle global challenges, including the control of COVID-19 and recovery of the world economy.

Close cooperation with political parties at the multilateral forum of political parties in general and ICAPP in particular is one of the priorities of the Communist Party of Viet Nam's external relations in the coming years to successfully implement the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress on continuing to implement the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization and diversification of external relations; proactively and actively participate in international integration, and simultaneously contribute to promoting the cause of peace, security, and development in Asia and over the world.

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