Vietnam Foreign Affairs Conference Redefines Diplomacy's Role in New Development Era

The Communist Party of Vietnam's Central Committee convened the 33rd Foreign Affairs Conference in Hanoi. General Secretary and President Tô Lâm delivered a keynote address at the opening ceremony, outlining the role and significance of Vietnamese diplomacy in its new development phase. The conference's theme is "Promoting the Pioneering Role and Fulfilling the Important and Regular Tasks of Vietnam's Diplomacy in the New Era." General Secretary and President Tô Lâm underscored the importance of holding this conference as the country enters a new stage of development, marking over 80 years since its founding and 40 years of Doi Moi (Renovation). He highlighted that for the first time, a Party Congress resolution has identified diplomacy and foreign affairs as "important and regular tasks," signifying that diplomacy is no longer merely a field of external relations but has become "a component of national comprehensive strength." He further stated that diplomacy is not solely the responsibility of diplomatic agencies but a "cause for the entire Party, the entire people, the entire army, and the entire political system." The conference is expected to foster a shared understanding across the entire diplomatic system regarding priorities, coordination methods, and the outcomes to be achieved, based on the new national development direction set by the 14th Party Congress and Political Bureau resolutions on international integration. Over the past year, despite rapid and complex global changes, Vietnam's foreign affairs and international integration have proceeded proactively and synchronously, yielding significant results. Diplomacy, in coordination with national defense and security, has helped maintain peace and stability, safeguard independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, and national interests, preventing the country from falling into a passive position. Diplomatic relations have been expanded and upgraded, with numerous new partnerships established, including Comprehensive Strategic Partnerships. This has enhanced political trust and Vietnam's international standing, opening up possibilities for cooperation in economics, science and technology, education, defense, security, and people-to-people exchanges. Multilateral diplomacy has also seen notable achievements, including the successful organization of the ASEAN Future Forum, the P4G Summit, and Vietnam's re-election to the UN Human Rights Council. Economic diplomacy has more closely aligned with development needs. Seventeen free trade agreements have been signed, with import-export turnover projected to reach approximately $930 billion USD by 2025, placing Vietnam among the world's top economies in terms of trade volume. Newly registered foreign direct investment exceeded $38 billion USD, with disbursed capital surpassing $27 billion USD, the highest in five years. Science-technology diplomacy, cultural diplomacy, and external information efforts have also been promoted, contributing to enhancing Vietnam's international image. These achievements affirm the correctness of Vietnam's foreign policy line: independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation, and development; multilateralism and diversification; and comprehensive, broad, and effective international integration. Vietnam is pursuing its goals and principles with flexibility in methods and steps, while upholding national interests and respecting international law. Source: Nhan Dan