 |
| Ambassador Nguyen Nguyet Nga answers questions from the press on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) High-level Policy Dialogue in Hanoi , June 22, 2021. (Photo: Tuan Anh) |
She has not been well for several years. We, the former staff of the Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation, were prepared to accept the loss. However, we were still shocked, disappointed and deeply saddened to hear that she had passed away.
For us, she is not only a talented and exemplary leader, a great teacher in foreign affairs, but also a devoted sister, always caring to teach, train, and guide us in life, always wishing that we female cadres will do better in our roles as mothers, wives, and know how to balance "national and family affairs".
A lifetime of dedication to research and policy making
During the nearly 10 years of working with her, for me, one of the most profound memories is the days of working with her on "policy". Working on "policy" with her, first of all, must come from research - serious, substantive research, not to "repay homework" according to the annual orders of the Science Department. With that in mind, a short time after taking on the position of Director of the Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation, she decided to establish a Policy Research Department for a unit that was inclined towards multilateral "operations". It was from this Research Department that she guided us, generations of diplomatic officers who were not formally trained in international relations, to take the first steps on the path of research, consulting and planning international integration policies and multilateral foreign affairs.
In 2010, under her guidance, we completed the Ministerial-level Project on the international economic relations situation and development trends until 2020. On the basis of this Project, along with dozens of discussions, working sessions, and consultations with former Party and State leaders and leading experts of our country on international economic integration and international economic and trade negotiations, we contributed to drafting the contents on international economic integration in the first comprehensive Resolution on international integration of the Politburo - Resolution No. 22. In the following years, every time we prepared to build a major policy document of the Party and State, we always started by writing in-depth Projects and topics, sometimes on the APEC Forum, on the regional situation of the Asia-Pacific region until 2030, on non-traditional security issues.
By 2016, when she had moved to work at the APEC 2017 National Secretariat, despite the busy preparations for the APEC Year, she was still enthusiastically sharing ideas, directions and motivating us to complete the Project on Vietnam's multilateral foreign policy orientation to 2025. This was the basis for the formation of Directive No. 25 of 2018 of the Secretariat on enhancing multilateral foreign policy. By the end of last year, despite her poor health, she was still extremely enthusiastic in contributing ideas to the development of the Politburo's new Resolution on international integration.
Doing research with her is a very interesting but also challenging experience. Interesting because we know that each product we participate in will "not be put in a drawer", but will be transformed into a new policy document on foreign affairs and international integration of the country. However, the challenge is even greater, because during the implementation of the Project, she constantly pondered, searched for new directions, new ways of looking at, approaching and analyzing the problem, and each time, our whole group would rewrite the Project from the beginning, or as we joked, we were about to defend the Project but still "empty-handed".
Later, when looking back, we realized more clearly that behind each research product that she cherished and urged us to implement during those years, was the desire and aspiration to bring new thinking about international integration and multilateral diplomacy to the country, to attract ministries, branches and localities to "accompany" and "participate" in the international integration process, and more deeply, the desire to raise Vietnam's position on the international map.
"Passionate" about propaganda and policy dissemination
Not only is she a diplomat with a passion for research and policy making, she is also a “master” in policy dissemination and propaganda, promoting the implementation of international integration and multilateral foreign policies.
I still remember clearly that after each time there were new policy documents of the Party and State on international integration and multilateral diplomacy, we had the opportunity to work with her to develop lectures, articles, and interviews on international economic integration and multilateral diplomacy.
Just like doing research, every time she accepts to give a lecture, she prepares with great enthusiasm, care and meticulousness. Although most of the lectures revolve around the issue of international integration or multilateral diplomacy, no lecture is the same. Each time, she studies the participants very carefully; reads a lot of documents on specialized fields, the interests of ministries, branches and localities organizing the class; updates and renews teaching materials according to current events and practical implementation of foreign affairs; the slides are increasingly detailed, more comprehensive in content and more refined in form.
One of the classes that she agreed to teach that still impressed me was the International Integration Knowledge Training Course for the Vietnam Association of Architects. When the invitation was sent, I thought that with such a specific industry, she probably wouldn't accept. But the very next day, she started looking for documents on the architecture and construction industry, on Vietnam's commitments in APEC, ASEAN..., on forums and international cooperation mechanisms in the construction - architecture industry... And then, to our surprise, a few days later, a series of tables were created by her, comparing Vietnam's commitments in the construction - architecture field in different cooperation mechanisms, analyzing the opportunities and challenges for Vietnam's construction and architecture industry in the process of international integration, and proposing measures to help members of the Association make the most of the opportunities that international integration brings.
She is also the initiator of many ideas on content and organization within the framework of Diplomatic Conferences to promote units within the Ministry and ministries and branches to accompany each other in international integration and multilateral diplomacy. These include the Plenary Session on Economic Diplomacy at the 27th Diplomatic Conference (2011), the Joint Session with the Conference of Commercial Counselors on the topic of international integration at the 28th Diplomatic Conference (2013), the Small Session on Multilateral Diplomatic Affairs at the 29th Diplomatic Conference (2016), and the Plenary Session on Multilateral Diplomacy at the 30th Diplomatic Conference (2018)...
Now, her "radical" ideas on transforming thinking in international integration and multilateral diplomacy, from "participating, signing, joining" to "implementing, implementing", then proactively and positively "contributing, building, shaping" rules and regulations, then "raising the level of multilateral diplomacy" have become familiar and are considered by generations of officials working in foreign affairs as a guideline in implementing multilateral diplomacy and international integration.
 |
| Ambassador Nguyen Nguyet Nga with officials of the Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation at an event held at the "common house" at 8 Khuc Hao. |
A Big Sister full of tolerance and love
Not only is she an excellent diplomat, with vision and dedication to her profession, Ambassador Nguyen Nguyet Nga is also a big sister in life. She always sets an example and reminds us to live with love and gratitude, to “remember the source of the water we drink”, to care, love and be tolerant of our comrades and colleagues.
In the early days when I was a Department Intern, seeing that I was still confused and bewildered in management and operation, she assigned me to be the Union President. Doing union work with her was really “under great pressure”, because she required me to plan union activities for the whole year, for each month, each quarter and to closely follow the plans to implement. Every month, every quarter, the Union had to have key activities related to the political and foreign affairs tasks of the unit or major anniversaries of the industry and the country. She also required inter-unit union activities.
And so, for more than two years, our Multilateral Economic Cooperation team has had many collective activities in the "common house" at 8 Khuc Hao with the European Department, the Department of Foreign Cultural Affairs and UNESCO, the Information and Information Technology Center and the Archives Department on the occasions of Mid-Autumn Festival, March 8, November 20, the anniversary of the establishment of the Department... Also during those two years, every spring, we had the opportunity to go on a Spring Outing with the Department of International Organizations, the Department of Foreign Policy...; organize a Year-end Gala with the Department of General Economics. I, and certainly many of my colleagues in the unit, will never forget those days full of memories, the hasty lunch to practice dancing, practicing singing together, the afternoons outside of work hours together humming "composing lyrics" to songs for the ceremony to celebrate the Department's founding day...
She also cares deeply about the lives of each officer in the unit. What is everyone’s family situation like, whether their lives are happy or difficult, what are their thoughts… She is always the first person in the unit to know and find ways to share and help resolve problems with very gentle stories.
Looking back now, I understand and appreciate even more the time she assigned me to do union work. Those were the valuable lessons she gave me about planning, organizing and urging the implementation of assigned tasks; lessons about building cohesion and solidarity within the unit, about how to coordinate and cooperate with units in the Ministry.
Knowing that life is impermanent, the passing of Ms. Nguyet Nga is a great loss for those who are attached to and love the work of international integration and multilateral diplomacy.
Dear Ms. Nguyet Nga, I hope you know that working with you for nearly 10 years is an extremely great honor. We will always be proud to be referred to as "officers of the Multilateral Economic Department", "officers of the APEC 2017 Secretariat", "officers trained by Ms. Nguyet Nga". I hope you are confident that, no matter what position we hold, we will always remember and follow the lessons you have passed on about love for the profession, "values" of the profession, "ethics" of the profession, about dedication and the spirit of dedication, commitment to work and the strength of collective solidarity.
You have lived a brilliant, meaningful and fulfilling life! You have “burned yourself out” for the country’s international integration! Rest in peace, Sister! We will always remember you!
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/dai-su-nguyen-nguyet-nga-nha-ngoai-giao-tron-mot-doi-tam-huyet-voi-su-nghiep-hoi-nhap-quoc-te-cua-dat-nuoc-321536.html
Comment (0)