Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's trip to Europe: A historical mission driven by aspiration to grow
WVR - Whether in Tallinn (Estonia) - the "ancient pearl" in the heart of Europe, the poetic coastal city of Nice in the South of France, the magnificent Paris or the ancient Stockholm (Sweden), Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh was always enthusiastic when sharing the stories of Vietnam and the concerns about solutions to common problems without borders...
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visits the E-Estonia Information Center on June 6, 2025. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
The trip to Europe by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his Spouse to attend the 3rd United Nations Ocean Summit (UNOC 3), conduct bilateral activities in France, and pay official visits to Estonia and Sweden is not simply the sum of diverse and dense foreign affairs activities, but also demonstrates a Vietnam with strong determination for the historical missions of humanity and for the aspirations of development with its own internal strength at the turning point of the era.
The activities of the Head of the Vietnamese Government in the three European countries are practical steps to implement the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, diversification, proactiveness, activeness, comprehensive, deep and effective international integration of the 13th National Party Congress and are important foreign activities to promote the implementation of Resolution No. 59 on international integration in the new situation.
Coming to UNOC 3 this time, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh not only brought the message of a country with more than 3,000 km of coastline but also of ASEAN - "the heart of a maritime Asia". Speaking at the Conference, representing 10 ASEAN countries, the Head of the Vietnamese Government emphasized that like other regions in the world, ASEAN's maritime areas are facing serious challenges.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at the plenary session of the third United Nations Ocean Summit on June 9, 2025. (Photo: Nhat Bac) |
The Prime Minister called on the international community to act faster, stronger, and more decisively based on six key orientations, including focusing on scientific foundations combined with experience in policy making; promoting science, technology, and innovation; unlocking, mobilizing, and effectively using resources for marine economic development; comprehensive, multi-sectoral approach in the management of marine and ocean development; promoting inter-regional, inter-national, inter-continental connectivity, forming a network of regional and global blue ocean economic centers; promoting international solidarity and cooperation in the conservation and sustainable development of marine and ocean. At the same time, the Prime Minister reaffirmed ASEAN's viewpoint of upholding the values of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Agreements implementing the Convention.
With the spirit of being proactive, “saying is doing, committing is implementing effectively and concretely”, Vietnam brought to the UNOC 3 Conference “real things, real actions”. That is, Vietnam registered 15 voluntary commitments in different areas of sea and ocean governance; the Vietnamese Government approved the Agreement on the Sea.
In particular, in the spirit of the multilateral festival, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid co-chaired the Summit on Deltas Affected by Climate Change, attracting many delegates who are leaders of countries with deltas.
At the Summit, the Prime Minister called on countries to unite and join hands in both vision and action so that deltas will be a stable and solid foundation for people's livelihoods and lives, a rich, fertile and precious gift of nature for the sustainable development and prosperity of countries and peoples around the world.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has repeatedly emphasized that digital transformation is the top priority for the country to rise up in the new era. The Prime Minister shares Vietnam's development aspirations in foreign affairs activities. On each working trip, the leader of the Vietnamese Government takes advantage of every opportunity to "witness" unique development models with the belief that joining hands and unanimity with friends and partners around the world will help Vietnam's development aspirations soon be realized.
During this trip, cooperation in the digital transformation and innovation process was the central theme and highlight in the exchange between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and senior leaders of Estonia, France and Sweden - typical examples of digital development in Europe.
The Government and people of Estonia welcomed the Head of the Vietnamese Government with great respect, warmth, and sincere feelings. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal affirmed his readiness to stand side by side and share experiences with Vietnam in the process of digital transformation and innovation. The Vietnamese leader directly visited the e-Estonia Centre - a symbol of the world's leading digital government, and worked with Cybernetica Company - a symbol of Estonia's digital economy. Here, the Prime Minister's questions and concerns were satisfactorily answered, helping Vietnam to be more confident in the path ahead.
In France, the pillar of science and technology cooperation in the overall Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was also deepened by the leaders of the two countries with specific steps. The two sides agreed to effectively implement the Intergovernmental Agreement on Science, Technology and Innovation Cooperation; and requested France to support Vietnam in improving its capacity in strategic areas such as aerospace, satellites, energy technology, biotechnology, digital technology industry, semiconductor technology, quantum technology, digital infrastructure development, and digital economy.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife arrive in Stockholm for an official visit to Sweden. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
Regarding artificial intelligence, President Macron agreed with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's proposal that France will be one of the leading partners in this field, aiming to ensure the development of artificial intelligence in a transparent, fair, and sustainable manner.
New development trends continued to be the focus of the discussion between Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Swedish leaders. Sweden has many advantages to support Vietnam in its transition to a low-carbon economy through investment, technology transfer and policy dialogue, especially in renewable energy, grid modernization and clean technology. The Nordic country always considers Vietnam a reliable partner, looking towards the future together based on common values and a vision of sustainable and inclusive development.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with the President of Costa Rica, the King of Jordan, the Prime Minister of Greece, the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands and the Vice President of China. With international organizations, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Director-General of UNESCO, the President of the United Nations General Assembly, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission.
As a veteran diplomat once commented, multilateralism is a “story of many people”, always requiring flexibility, adaptability, and harmonization of interests. Clearly, with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s working trip, it can be clearly felt that whether it is a “story of two people” or a “story of many people”, Vietnam has been and is subtly integrating, creating a solid foreign policy stance, confidently leading Vietnam into new stages of development.
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