Diplomatic sector urged to promote bamboo diplomacy

Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng attends the 32nd Diplomatic Conference on Tuesday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng on Tuesday called for promoting “bamboo diplomacy” to continue to innovate, build and develop a modern and comprehensively strong diplomatic sector.

Speaking at the 32nd Diplomatic Conference, Trọng said the sector must promote its pioneering role in building and safeguarding the nation to successfully concretalise the 13th Party Congress’ Resolution.

The conference, themed “Promoting the pioneering role, building a comprehensive, modern and strong diplomacy, successfully implementing the Resolution of the 13th Party Congress”, will review the country’s diplomatic achievements and map out orientations for the future.

The outcome of the conference will not only orient the foreign affairs tasks in the next two to three years but also serve as a preparation step for summarising 40 years of implementing the foreign policy during the đổi mới (reform) period and setting external relation policy of the 14th Party Congress.

In the context of unprecedented global and regional developments along with traditional and non-traditional security challenges, Trọng said the sector must regularly update the situation and make accurate forecasts.

He said the diplomatic sector must strive to accomplish assigned tasks as stated at the 13th Party Congress which is to implement consistently the foreign policy line of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development; the foreign policy of openness and diversification and multilateralisation of international relations. Việt Nam is a friend and reliable partner of all countries in the international community, actively taking part in international and regional cooperation processes.

“Diplomacy must always be steadfast in principles and flexible in strategy. Our principles are national independence and socialism. Our strategy is to be mobile and flexible to adapt to every problem, every certain time and partner,” he said.

The sector must build a team of foreign affairs officials holding quality in ethics and intelligence, and modern professional style as well as proficiency in business and foreign languages, he said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn said since the National Foreign Affairs Conference in late 2021, the diplomatic sector and others have successfully organised 45 visits made by Vietnamese key leaders to neighbouring, traditional and important partner countries and welcomed nearly 50 visits by leaders of countries to Việt Nam, including the historical visit to China of General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, visits to Việt Nam by General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden.

Those visits have created new qualitative developments in the country’s foreign affairs and international integration. Việt Nam’s relationships with many important partners have been elevated to new heights, political trust with many countries has been firmly consolidated, and cooperation has been increasingly expanded substantively and effectively, he said.

On the multilateral level, Việt Nam’s international position and reputation continue to be enhanced. Việt Nam has been taking on a lot of international responsibilities well, promoting our role in important multilateral organisations and forums such as ASEAN, the United Nations, the Mekong sub-region, APEC, AIPA, IPU, UNESCO, United Nations Conference on Climate Change, Belt and Road Summit, he said.

Việt Nam has made responsible contributions to common world issues such as combating climate change, food security, preserving peace in Africa and providing timely humanitarian support to countries suffering from natural disasters and conflict, Sơn said.

He said Việt Nam’s economic diplomacy has been expanded and deepened with many partners, contributing to ensuring macro-economic and major balances, promoting economic growth, import and export, attracting new resources, including FDI, ODA, science and technology and bringing Việt Nam into the group of 40 largest economies in the world and the top 20 economies in terms of trade and foreign investment attraction.

Minister of Public Security Tô Lâm said the public security foreign policy continues to affirm its role as one of the main pillars of Việt Nam’s foreign policy. The public security sector’s external relations affairs have strengthened the image of Việt Nam as a peace-loving country, ready to act as a bridge to resolve conflicts and maintain peace, he said.

The sector has actively engaged in multilateral forums and developing new laws and standards related to the fight against transnational crime and solving non-traditional security issues, he said.

Delivering a remark on Hà Nội’s foreign affairs, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Trần Sỹ Thanh said the city has fostered bilateral and multilateral cooperation. Hà Nội has signed cooperation agreements with many localities from Laos, China, Cuba and the Republic of Korea.

In 2023, Hà Nội hosted big diplomatic events such as the 12th cooperation conference between Vietnamese and French localities, the 10th economic corridor cooperation conference between four Vietnamese provinces and cities with Yunnan province (China). Those events have left an impression on foreigners as a dynamic and creative city during the integration, he said. — VNS