Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son (Photo: VNA) Firstly, the sector willcontinue to strengthen the renovation of mindset on external relations, the FMsaid, stressing the need to boldly go beyond old-fashioned mindset and find newmethods for the benefit of the nation. It is necessary to strengthen strategicresearch, consultation and forecast on external relations, discovering newissues and identifying the strategic position of the country, and making fulluse of international trend to design proper policies and take suitable steps,he said.
Secondly, the sectorwill promote its pioneer role and coordinate with Party, people diplomacy aswell as other sectors to concertedly deploy foreign relations and diplomaticforces, thus firmly consolidating a peaceful and stable environment, protectingthe Fatherland early and from afar, and mobilising new external resources foreconomic development and enhancement of the country’s position and prestige,the official underlined.
Thirdly, thediplomatic sector will focus on creating a new breakthrough in building anddeveloping itself in a strong, comprehensive and modern manner, he said.
Noting that the “Vietnamese bamboo diplomacy" was firstmentioned by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in 2016, he said that contents of thepolicy were highlighted by the leader during the National Conference on ForeignAffairs in December 2021.
The policy is built and developed on the foundation of inheriting andcreatively applying the Ho Chi Minh ideology and diplomatic art as well as thecultural and diplomatic identity of the nation, using the image of the Vietnamesebamboo with strong roots, solid stems, and flexible branches.
Directions by the Party leader has served as a loadstar forthe Vietnamese diplomacy to implement tasks in the current tenure, said the FM.
Looking back on external relations activities in 2023, Son said that theactivities have been bustled with 22 visits abroad by key national leaders and28 visits to Vietnam by leaders of other countries, contributing toexpanding the country’s external relations in both bilateral and multilateralaspects. Particularly, economic diplomatic activities have made significantcontributions to promoting the national economic growth, enabling the countryto secure an import-export turnover of nearly 700 billion USD and an increaseof 14.8% in foreign direct investment (FDI) attraction, he stated.
Regarding major orientations to turn economic diplomacy into an importantmotivation for fast and sustainable national development in 2024, FM Son saidthat economic diplomacy will be extensively associated in all externalrelations activities, especially those at the high level, with close combinationwith political and cultural diplomacy as well as diplomatic areas. Economiccooperation has become a key pillar in all external relations, especially withimportant partners, he said.
The official noted that along with effectively implemented signed free tradeagreements (FTA), this year Vietnam has signed an FTA with Israel and isnegotiating for FTAs with other partners, while ministries and sector haveinked more than 70 deals, localities reached nearly 100 agreements, andbusinesses signed hundreds of deals.
In 2024, amid many difficulties and risks as well as opportunities andheadwinds, economic diplomacy will continue to focus on specifying newlyupgraded relationship frameworks into practical and effective economiccooperation programmes and projects, especially in expanding markets andaccessing new sources of capital for promotion of infrastructure development,high technology, digital transformation, green growth, tourism attraction, andlabour export.
Alongside, the sector will work with other sectors and localities to removeobstacles in economic cooperation with partners, especially important ones,enhancing the efficiency of support to industries, localities and businessfollowing the motto of taking the people, localities and business as the centreof its services, stated FM Son./.
VNA
