Hanoi (VNA) – 2017 is one of the mostsuccessful years of Vietnam’s diplomacy, said Deputy Prime Minister and ForeignMinister Pham Binh Minh in a recent article.

During the year, diplomatic activities were implemented proactively, activelyand drastically, both bilaterally and multilaterally, contributing to thecountry’s socio-economic achievements and the fulfillment of major strategictargets set by the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party ofVietnam, he said.

The most outstanding activity was Vietnam’s hosting of the 2017 Asia-PacificEconomic Cooperation (APEC) Year, with the peak being the APEC EconomicLeaders’ Week in the central city of Da Nang in November.

The APEC Year 2017 has affirmed APEC as a leading forum for cooperation andconnectivity in the region while highlighting Vietnam’s role in an event ofglobal importance, helping promote the country’s image, position and prestigein the world, the Deputy PM and Foreign Minister affirmed.

Vietnam’s organizational work and initiatives at the event have been applaudedby other APEC member economies and international media, he added.

Minh described APEC Year 2017 as a vivid manifestation of the advancement ofVietnam’s diplomacy towards “proactively contributing to building and shapingcommon rules,” thus effectively protecting and promoting Vietnam’s strategicinterests in security and development.

The event has also demonstrated that Vietnam is a responsible member of the internationalcommunity, and created new awareness, new trust, new strength and momentum forthe country’s international integration, he stressed.

Besides, Vietnam has made great efforts to step up relations with itsneighbours, regional countries, world powers and traditional friends, the topdiplomat said, noting that the country’s high-ranking officials had made 18visits to 19 countries and attended eight multilateral international events,along with hundreds of bilateral meetings with many countries’ leaders.

Vietnam also hosted 36 visits by foreign heads ofState and Prime Ministers.

During the APEC Economic Leaders Week, Vietnam welcomed two State visits on thesame day by General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committeeand President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump, visits by the ChileanPresident and the Canadian Prime Minister, and held more than 50 meetings withleaders of other APEC economies.

The country also organized various activities tomark major anniversaries in bilateral ties with Laos and Cambodia, andhigh-level visits to Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand.

Through such diplomatic activities, Vietnam has increased political trust and promotedthe efficiency of pragmatic cooperation wit neighbouring countries, whilefostering political and economic ties with other key partners like China, Russia,the US, Japan and India.

In the year, Vietnam established comprehensive partnerships with Myanmar andCanada.

In his article, the Deputy PM and FM also underlined Vietnam’s internationaleconomic integration during 2017, mentioning efforts made by the country andother members to accelerate talks on the Comprehensive and ProgressiveAgreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Vietnam is also working with other countries topromote negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)and lobbying for the early official signing, ratification and implementation ofthe Vietnam-EU free trade agreement.

At the same time, the country has intensified defence-security cooperation withpartner countries, helping enhancing mutual understanding and trust, Deputy PMMinh said.

He cited as examples the completion of borderdemarcation and marker planting along the Vietnam-Laos border, and 84.6 percentof the work in the common border with Cambodia has also been done.

Vietnam and other ASEAN countries and China have made joint efforts for theapproval of the draft framework of the Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC)and officially began negotiations on the COC itself.

The country has also cooperated with other countries to protect the legalstatus of more than 5,500 Vietnamese citizens and repatriate nearly 2,000fishermen detained abroad.

Deputy PM Minh further said cultural diplomacy and externalinformation service has been promoted, contributing to enhancing Vietnam’s image.

He stressed that in 2018 and the years to come,diplomatic tasks will continue be carried out synchronously.

Vietnam’s diplomatic sector is ready to face all challenges in 2018 andcontinue to serve national construction and defence, he emphasised.-VNA