Secretary Quan Minh Cuong: People's diplomacy is an important driving force for Cao Bang to develop quickly and sustainably.

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (November 17, 1950 - November 17, 2025), Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the National Assembly Delegation of Cao Bang province, Mr. Quan Minh Cuong, gave an interview to Thoi Dai about the key goals of people's foreign affairs of Cao Bang, one of the localities with a special position in politics and foreign economics.

-Sir, Resolution 59-NQ/TW on international integration in the new situation recently issued by the Politburo emphasizes the role of people's diplomacy. In the context of the whole country entering a new era, what specific goals have been identified by the Provincial Party Standing Committee for people's diplomacy in Cao Bang, sir?

-Cao Bang is a border province with a length of more than 333 km adjacent to Guangxi (China), with many international, bilateral and open border gates - this is both a "fence" of the Fatherland in terms of security and defense, and a bridge for economic , cultural cooperation and people-to-people exchange with China and the region. In that context, people-to-people diplomacy plays an important role as a "soft fence" in the border area, contributing to strengthening the Vietnam-China friendship and creating a solid foundation for protecting security, defense and promoting socio-economic development.

Resolution 59-NQ/TW affirms that people-to-people diplomacy is one of the three important pillars of Vietnam's foreign affairs, along with Party foreign affairs and State diplomacy . Thoroughly grasping the spirit of the Resolution, the Standing Committee of Cao Bang Provincial Party Committee has identified a number of key objectives, specifically as follows:

Firstly, promote the strength of the great national unity bloc, raise awareness of all levels, sectors and people about the role of people's diplomacy; consider this an important bridge to build trust, strengthen solidarity and friendship, expand international cooperation, and turn Cao Bang into a center of border trade.

Cao Bang Provincial Party Secretary Quan Minh Cuong

Second, promote people-to-people exchanges, focus on developing cross-border tourism, associated with promoting the image of Cao Bang - a land rich in revolutionary traditions, with the UNESCO Global Geopark Non Nuoc Cao Bang through cultural, artistic, educational, sports and defense activities; build models of "friendly and cultural villages"; organize typical events such as: Ban Gioc Waterfall (Vietnam) - Duc Thien (China) cross-border half-marathon, border Dragon Spring Festival, traditional ethnic festivals in Quang Hoa, Vietnam - China youth exchange program...

Third, turn people-to-people diplomacy into a practical bridge to promote cooperation in many fields: border economy, culture, education - training, health, science - technology and innovation; expand social and environmental cooperation; actively participate in peace and friendship activities, thereby enhancing the province's prestige and position in the international arena.

Fourth, focus on promoting the proactive role of socio-political organizations, unions, friendship associations, business communities and overseas Cao Bang compatriots in people-to-people diplomacy activities; mobilize social resources to serve local development.

Fifth, innovate content and methods of operation, take advantage of digital transformation and online platforms to expand people-to-people exchange channels, especially among the young generation; contribute to preserving culture, spreading good values; link international integration with maintaining political stability, social order and safety, protecting the legitimate interests of localities and national border sovereignty.

We believe that, with the drastic participation of the entire political system and the active response of the people, people's foreign affairs in Cao Bang will be increasingly effective, becoming an important driving force to promote the province's rapid and sustainable development, contributing to building a peaceful, friendly, cooperative border for mutual development, and actively contributing to the country's deep international integration process.

- To achieve future achievements, the prerequisite is that the parallel policy system must be appropriate and predictive. Sir, to concretize Resolution 59-NQ/TW, what additional contents should be added to the foreign policy in general so that Cao Bang in particular can be considered a bridge to introduce its image to the international community, thereby improving the effectiveness of attracting investment to the locality?

-First of all, I would like to affirm that Cao Bang is facing many opportunities and challenges in international integration. To turn opportunities into practical results, building a synchronous, predictable and flexible foreign policy system in implementation is very important. We propose two key orientations: (1) Decentralize specific and clear powers to localities - especially border provinces, to create conditions for localities to be proactive and flexible in implementing international integration. (2) Have a policy to mobilize diverse resources to implement foreign affairs contents and activities effectively, sustainably, in accordance with practical conditions and development orientations of each locality.

On that basis, we identify a number of priority areas to focus on as follows:

Firstly, perfecting the border trade mechanism and policies and border cooperation: further facilitating trade, investment, logistics and infrastructure connection with Guangxi (China); coordinating the upgrading of border gates, openings, and specialized roads for transporting goods; building digital border gates and smart border gates; investing in essential infrastructure at border gate areas. At the same time, promulgating and effectively implementing the Inter-sectoral Coordination Regulation on international integration, ensuring that all international agreements and documents are implemented synchronously and promptly.

Second, Foreign Policy needs to have content promoting the image and building local brands: Strengthening cultural and people diplomacy; developing tourism associated with preserving and promoting traditional historical and cultural values, especially the Pac Bo National Special Monument, Non Nuoc Cao Bang UNESCO Global Geopark; developing the Ban Gioc Waterfall Landscape Area (Vietnam) - Duc Thien (China) to become a national key tourist area, a model of cross-border tourism, implementing red cross-border tourism routes Pac Bo (Vietnam) - Manh Ma (China). Taking advantage of digital platforms, international fairs, cultural and tourism events to promote the image of Cao Bang - a land rich in potential, safe, friendly and open, to attract tourists and investors.

Third, it is necessary to develop incentive mechanisms and create conditions for economic diplomacy, trade and investment promotion activities to be implemented regularly, with focus and key points. Supplement policies to support local enterprises in the process of international integration, especially small and medium enterprises and start-ups, through connecting supply chains and promoting investment in major economic centers at home and abroad.

Fourth , Improve the capacity of staff and develop high-quality human resources: Strengthen foreign language training (English, Chinese), negotiation skills, diplomatic protocol, cooperation planning, ODA and NGO project management; improve international integration capacity for local staff, meeting the requirements of the new period.

Fifth, Attracting investment and mobilizing international resources: Completing the synchronous planning of the province, making procedures transparent, building a list of projects calling for ODA, FDI, and NGOs; improving the investment environment. Combining investment promotion with tourism and trade promotion, and mobilizing resources from overseas Vietnamese, intellectuals, and Cao Bang businessmen abroad to participate in local construction and development.

Sixth, Developing border gate economy and key sectors: focusing on agriculture and forestry according to international export standard value chains; supporting key enterprises to improve competitiveness and innovation; effectively connecting with international markets to turn Cao Bang into an economic and foreign trade center between South and Southwest China with Vietnam and ASEAN, becoming an attractive destination for investment and international integration.

-Thank you very much!

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/bi-thu-quan-minh-cuong-doi-ngoai-nhan-dan-la-dong-luc-quan-trong-de-cao-bang-phat-trien-nhanh-va-ben-vung-217135.html