Review on external affairs from June 26-July 2: Successful visits by PM to China, President of Swiss National Council to Vietnam
WVR - Review on a number of news headlines on external affairs from June 26-July 2 by The World and Vietnam Report.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has a meeting with General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping. (Photo: WVR/Nguyen Hong) |
Leaders’ activities
On June 28, on the occasion of the 72nd anniversary of the Founding of the Cambodian People's Party (CPP) (June 28, 1951- 2023), the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam sent a congratulatory message to the Central Committee of the Cambodian People's Party. It wrote: “The Party, State, and people of Vietnam are proud of and delighted with the achievements recorded on the basis of the two sides’ traditional friendship, cooperation, and mutual assistance throughout their history of national liberation, unification, as well as in their current process of innovation and national construction and protection”.
The same day, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong sent flowers to CPP President and Prime Minister Hun Sen, and CPP Honorary President and National Assembly President Heng Samrin. Truong Thi Mai, Politburo member, permanent member of the CPV Central Committee’s Secretariat, and Head of the CPV Central Committee’s Organisation Commission; and Le Hoai Trung, member of the CPV Central Committee and Head of its Commission for External Relations, also extended greetings to Say Chhum, Vice President of the CPP and President of the Senate, and Prak Sokhonn, Chairman of the CPP Central Committee's Commission for External Relations.
On June 30, receiving President of the National Council of Switzerland Martin Candinas, President Vo Van Thuong suggested President of the National Council of Switzerland Candinas back the strengthening of bilateral ties across the board, especially in politics-diplomacy, economy, trade and investment and at global and regional forums. Vietnam is making strong efforts to improve investment environment, thus creating more favourable conditions for foreign investors, including those from Switzerland, he said.
On the same day, at their meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh suggested President of the National Council of Switzerland Martin Candinas support and encourage Swiss businesses to invest in Vietnam.
Previously, on June 28, National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue held talks with President of the National Council of Switzerland Martin Candinas after chairing a welcome ceremony for the Swiss leader in Hanoi. NA Chairman Hue affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to its traditional friendship and cooperation with Switzerland and expressed his gratitude for the European nation's provision of over 600 million USD in official development assistance (ODA) for Vietnam from 1991 to 2021 as well as for supporting Vietnam in the fight against COVID-19.
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| National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and President of Swiss National Council Martin Candinas. (Photo: VNA) |
On June 30, President of the National Council of Switzerland Martin Candinas left Hanoi, concluding his official visit to Vietnam at the invitation of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue. During the visit, Mr. Candinas pledged to work closely with Vietnam to boost bilateral ties adding that in its external relation policy Switzerland considers Vietnam a strategic partner in Southeast Asia.
On June 30, receiving Ambassador Oh Youngju, President Vo Van Thuong has congratulated the outgoing Ambassador of the Republic of Korea (RoK) to Vietnam, on fulfilling her tasks and commended the diplomat for her important contributions to fostering the bilateral ties. President Vo Van Thuong also congratulated the Ambassador on being assigned a new task and expressed his belief that the diplomat would continue backing and promoting the Vietnam-RoK comprehensive strategic partnership in the coming time.
On June 29, a ceremony was held at Tan Son Nhat Airport, Ho Chi Minh City, to deploy Level-2 Field Hospital Rotation 5 and Engineering Unit Rotation 2 of Vietnam for peacekeeping operations in the United Nations missions in South Sudan and Abyei. President Vo Van Thuong affirmed that the Party and State always put trust in the Vietnamese peacekeeping force, are proud of the force’s achievements, and also believe that the deployed units will build up attainments of their predecessors and bring into play their mettle, wisdom, and capabilities during the performance of the noble duties assigned by the Party, State, army, and people to meet requirements of the UN.
As Vietnam and Australia cooperate in United Nations peacekeeping, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Andrew Goledzinowski, Australian Defence Attaché to Vietnam GPCAPT Mick Jansen and Australian Consul General Ms Sarah Hooper also attended at the ceremony. 63 peacekeepers from the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) depart Tan Son Nhat Airport on an C-17A Globemaster of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). On July 3, this same aircraft will return to Hanoi with VPA Peacekeepers who have been operating the Level 2 Field Hospital providing medical support to the UN Mission in South Sudan for over a year.
On June 30, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent a message of congratulations to Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis on his re-election as Prime Minister of Greece. On the same day, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son sent a congratulatory message to Giorgos Gerapetritis, on his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece.
On June 30, receiving Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Gilbert F. Houngbo, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh thanked ILO for its assistance to Vietnam over the past years, particularly in building the first Labour Code in 1994, and its subsequent amendments in 2012 and 2019. He proposed that ILO continue helping Vietnam consider the possibility of joining initiatives in line with appropriate pathways to achieve the goals of social justice and progress, and sustainably ensure the legitimate rights and interests of workers.
On the same day, receiving ILO Director-General Gilbert F. Houngbo, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue said that ILO is always an important and trustworthy partner of Vietnam. Vietnam advocates building harmonious, stable and progressive labour relations. The State plays a coordinating role between employers (represented by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry - VCCI) and employees (represented by the Vietnam General Confederation of Labour), he said, adding that Vietnam is also actively restructuring its growth model and making three strategic breakthroughs related to institutions, infrastructure and human resources.
On June 29, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh received a delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) headed by Sanjaya Panth, Deputy Director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, who were on a working trip in Vietnam for Article IV consultation. Expressing his satisfaction with the results of the cooperation between Vietnam and the IMF, Prime Minister Chinh stated that the Vietnamese Government always listens to and highly values the evaluation opinions and policy advice from the IMF. The report by the Article IV consultation team is one of the important sources of input information for the making and implementation of policies by the government, ministries and sectors.
On June 28, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation returned to Hanoi, successfully wrapping up their official visit to China and attendance at the 14th Annual Meeting of the New Champions (AMNC) of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Tianjin from June 25-28. This is the first official visit by Prime Minister Chinh and the first by a Vietnamese Prime Minister to China after seven years.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Chinese Premier Li Qiang. (Photo: WVR/Nguyen Hong) |
During the trip, in Beijing, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held talks with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, had a courtesy call on Party General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping, meetings with Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) of China Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) Wang Huning; attended the Vietnam - China Trade and Investment Cooperation Forum and visited Xiong'an New Area in Hebei province. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh also met with a delegation of Chinese friendship scholars who supported Vietnam during the past two resistance wars as well as the current national construction in Beijing as part of his official visit to the country.
On this occasion, Vietnam and China have issued a Joint Press statement.
In Tianjin, the Prime Minister had a tight schedule, including attendance and speaking at many important meetings, having substantive, effective and open discussions with leaders of various countries, international organizations and leading corporations in the world, such as meetings with WEF founder and Executive Chairman Prof. Klaus Schwab, Prime Ministers of New Zealand Chris Hipkins, especially the attendance at the WEF’s Country Strategic Dialogue on Vietnam, outlining approaches, orientations against "headwinds" at WEF debate themed “Braving the Headwinds: Rewiring Growth Amid Fragility”.
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| Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and WEF President Klaus Schwab. (Photo: WVR/Nguyen Hong) |
On June 29, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue sent a congratulatory message to Mr. Numan Kurtulmus on being elected as Chairman of the Turkish Parliament.
On June 27, National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue hosted a reception for a delegation of the Central Union of Cuban Workers (CTC) led by its Secretary General Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento, who is also Vice President of the World Federation of Trade Unions. NA Chairman Hue stressed that the Vietnam-Cuba relations have been developing fruitfully, as reflected through high-level visits by leaders of the two countries over the past time.
On the same day, Politburo member, Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)'s Central Committee and Head of its Organisation Commission Truong Thi Mai hosted a reception for the delegation of the Central Union of Cuban Workers (CTC) led by Secretary General Ulises Guilarte de Nacimiento.
On June 27, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha and Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Mark Harbers co-chaired the eighth meeting of the Vietnam-Netherlands Inter-Governmental Committee on climate change adaptation and water management in The Hague.
Previously, on June 26, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha held talks with Dutch counterpart Carola Schouten in The Hague as part of his working visit to the Netherlands. Deputy Prime Minister Ha affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to its comprehensive partnership with the Netherlands.
On the same day, in The Hague, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha attended a ceremony organising by the Vietnamese Embassy in the Netherlands to mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Attending the ceremony were Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme - Netherlands' Climate Envoy, representatives from ministries, branches, Vietnamese overseas community, Dutch friends and staff of Vietnamese Embassy in the Netherlands. Speaking at the event, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha said that over half a century, Vietnam and the Netherlands have become each other's important and prioritised partners in the region.
Activities of the Foreign Minister
On June 25, within the framework of the official visit by PM Pham Minh Chinh to China, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang had a meeting in Beijing. Foreign Minister Son underlined that Vietnam attaches great importance to developing the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership with China, which is a top priority in Vietnam’s external policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification of foreign relations. Foreign Minister Qin affirmed that China considers Vietnam a priority in its neighbourhood diplomacy as well as in its relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
On June 28 evening, in an interview granted to the media on the outcomes achieved during Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to China and attendance at WEF Tianjin, Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son affirmed the visit was a great success, and recorded many important results.
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| Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son meets Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing. (Photo: WVR/Nguyen Hong) |
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to China has contributed to concretising the common perceptions of the two Party General Secretaries, especially the Joint Statement on continuing to promote and deepen the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership issued in December 2022, said the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Political trust between the two countries has been strongly strengthened, creating an important foundation for promoting and deepening the Vietnam-China comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in the new situation, bringing benefits to the people of the two countries.
Bilateral activities
From June 28 to July 2, Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung has a working visit to the US at the invitation of the US Department of State. In Washington D.C, the Vietnamese delegation had working sessions with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink, Deputy Under Secretary of Defence for Policy Sasha Baker, President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC). They also met with former US officials and senators who support the development of Vietnam - US relations. In New York, the delegation worked with UN Under-Secretary-General for Policy Guy Ryder, and had an online discussion with US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry. They also had meetings with long-standing friends of Vietnam in the US, and representatives of the US Communist Party.
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| Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung has a working session with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (Photo: VNA) |
From June 25-26, a delegation of the Party Central Committee’s Foreign Relations Commission led by its Head Le Hoai Trung paid a visit to Cuba. Within the framework of the visit, the delegation had meetings with Politburo member, Permanent Secretary of the Cuban Communist Party's Secretariat Roberto Morales Ojeda; Politburo member, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla and Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central Department of Economy and Production Joel Queipo Ruiz, held talks with a Cuban Party delegation led by Ratmir Lozada García, Head of the Department of International Relations of the Cuban Communist Party's Central Committee. The delegation offered flowers to commemorate President Ho Chi Minh at the park named after him in Havana and visited the Vietnam-Cuba Project for the development of rice production in the province of Matanzas.
On June 28, Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet and Lao Deputy Foreign Minister Phoxay Khaykhamphithoune co-chaired the 8th political consultation between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs in Vientiane, Laos. Both sides expressed their delight at the positive development of the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries over the past years, including their close coordination to hold Laos visits by Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong in April 2023 and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in January 2023. They pledged to jointly prepare for high-level visits and important cooperation mechanisms in the near future while working closely together with ministries, agencies and localities to implement high-level agreements.
On June 30, Vietnamese Ambassador to Germany Vu Quang Minh held a working session with Nadja Zivkovic, Mayor of Marzahn-Hellersdorf borough of Berlin, to discuss ways to increase its cooperation with Vietnamese localities via specific projects in the near future. Ambassador Minh hoped that Marzahn-Hellersdorf would continue offering support to the overseas Vietnamese community there, enabling them to grow stronger and make even more positive and diverse contributions to the borough's development, including the Pacific Trade Centre or Vietnamese pagodas within the borough.
On June 30, a ceremony was held in St. Petersburg city, Russia, to inaugurate the statue of President Ho Chi Minh. The 3m tall bronze statue of President Ho Chi Minh is placed on a 1.5m high pedestal. The President is shown as sitting solemnly, with his right hand holding a book - a posture described by the designers as "dynamic in stillness," symbolising his profound ideological insights during his journey to Russia.
Vietnamese Ambassador to Russia Dang Minh Khoi said that the statue will serve as a new symbol of friendship between the two countries and will become a prominent destination for Vietnamese guests, Russian and international friends. Earlier, Politburo member and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen visited and cut the ribbon to inaugurate the Ho Chi Minh Museum at High School No. 488, near the Ho Chi Minh statue.
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| Statue of President Ho Chi Minh inaugurated in St. Petersburg. (Photo: Vietnamese Embassy in Russia) |
On June 30, an international workshop with the theme "Ho Chi Minh's ideological heritage: 100 years later" was held at the Ho Chi Minh Institute under St Petersburg University to mark the 100th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh’s arrival in Russia. Vladimir Mazyrin, Director of the Centre for Vietnamese and ASEAN Studies at the Russian Academy of Science, recalled the late President’s 10-year stay in Europe, saying the knowledge he gained had contributed to the success of Vietnam’s August Revolution and building a Vietnamese state of democracy and independence.
On June 30, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), the Australian Embassy in Vietnam and Australia's national science agency (CSIRO) organised a “Vietnam-Australia Innovation Partnership Day”. Since 2018, the Australian Government has helped Vietnam develop an innovation ecosystem through its flagship Aus4Innovation programme. Australia recently announced that the Aus4Innovation programme will be extended to 2028, making it a 10-year commitment with a total budget of 33.5 million AUD (22.17 million USD).
From June 26-27, Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Pham Quang Hieu visited Ehime Prefecture, has a meeting with Governor Nakamura Tokihiro, exchanged views with Chairman of the Provincial Council Takayama Yasuhito, and spoke at the Investment Promotion Forum of Ben Tre province, visited Ehime University and Takuto Noda Company.
On the occasion of attending the WEF Tianjin Conference, Standing Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu received Ms. Monica Dorina Gheorghita, former Deputy Foreign Minister of Romania and currently Vice President of GSP Holdings.
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the strategic partnership between Vietnam and Indonesia (June 27, 2013-2023), Vietnamese Ambassador to Indonesia Ta Van Thong shared with the press about positive developments in bilateral relations. Former Indonesian Ambassador to Vietnam Ibnu Hadi said that the Vietnam-Indonesia Strategic Partnership is for the benefit and prosperity of the two peoples.
In the interview on the threshold of the official visit of President of the Swiss National Council Martin to Vietnam from June 27-30, Swiss Ambassador Thomas Gass stressed on the significance of the visit to strengthen the good cooperation between the two countries, and consolidate the good relationship between their two legislative bodies.
Multilateral activities
From July 1-7, the Vietnamese delegation led by Ambassador Duong Hai Hung attended the 43rd session of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Ministerial Conference. The Conference took place at FAO headquarters with a program to elect the Director-General for the term 2023-2027 and high-level roundtables on the theme of integrated water resources management.
Citizen protection
The Vietnamese Embassy in Laos recently warned people to be cautious of invitations to go to Laos to do "easy jobs with high wages". People wishing to work abroad should to go through official channels and licensed companies which have good reputation in bringing Vietnamese workers to work abroad.
Other activities
From June 26 to July 2, Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV)'s delegation, led by Politburo member, Head of the Central Committee’s Commission for Internal Affairs Phan Dinh Trac, visited Switzerland.
During the visit, the delegation met with and held working sessions with First Vice President of the Swiss Council of States Eva Herzog; Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Rebeca Grynspan; head of the Swiss Interdepartmental Agency on Anti-Corruption Alexandra Baumann; General Secretary of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Markus Seiler; Mayor of Bern Alec von Graffenried; Co-President of the Swiss Labour Party Amanda Loset; General Secretary of the Communist Party of Switzerland Massimilano Ay and President of the Switzerland-Vietnam Friendship Association Anjuska Weil.
On June 27, at the National Funeral Hall (No.5 Tran Thanh Tong, Hanoi), the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the National Assembly, the President, the Government, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and family solemnly held the funeral of former Secretary of the Party Central Committee, former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan, according to the state funeral ceremony.
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President Vo Van Thuong
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh
Deputy Prime Minister
Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son
Chinese Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping
Chinese Premier Li Qiang
President of National Council of Switzerland
Martin Candinas
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs
Tianjin
World Economic Forum (WEF)
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