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| Attending the opening ceremony at a poor school in Thanh Xa commune, Thanh Ba district, Phu Tho province (formerly), Ambassador Nguyen Thi Nguyet Nga encouraged students to be determined to study for a bright future. (Photo: Nguyen Hong) |
Four decades of fulfilling dreams
With over 40 years of experience in bilateral and multilateral diplomacy , from her time as a private to her position as a unit leader, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nguyet Nga has always worked selflessly, full of energy, enthusiasm and ideas. Anyone who has ever interacted with her can feel her deep sense of responsibility, and if she has not yet found the “answer”, she will still be restless.
Many people ask each other where she gets the energy to be so resilient? Everyone has their own answer, for me, I remember the story she shared with the press years ago, when she talked about her life dream, the dream of a girl over 10 years old who knew about the Paris Agreement in 1973 - "grow up to be a diplomat so that the country will always be at peace, so that children do not have to evacuate, do not have to live far from their parents..." Perhaps, that energy comes from the passion for life ideals, the aspiration for the sacred word " peace ", guided by the "diplomatic light" of the predecessors she always admired.
Quietly, persistently, and tenaciously, over four decades of living her dream, she has left her mark. Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Hang, who worked directly with her for many years, affirmed that when mentioning Ambassador Nguyet Nga, it is impossible not to mention her contributions to Vietnam's important policies and guidelines on international integration and multilateral diplomacy.
Notable among them are Resolution 22 of the Politburo on international integration, Directive 25 of the Secretariat on promoting and enhancing multilateral diplomacy until 2030... For nearly 15 years as Director of the Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation, Advisor to the APEC 2017 National Secretariat, Vietnam's important thinking, policies and implementation steps in international economic integration, international integration and multilateral cooperation, perhaps all bear her mark.
Deputy Minister Nguyen Minh Hang recalled the memories when her predecessor devoted so much effort and intelligence to researching, summarizing and promoting great ideas on international integration and multilateral diplomacy. Summarizing Vietnam's integration journey since 1995, when Vietnam joined ASEAN, she was the one who strongly promoted the change in thinking from "signing, participating" to "contributing, building, shaping".
During the drafting of Directive 25 of the Secretariat on promoting and enhancing multilateral diplomacy until 2030, she advised “remember the three core words: core, leadership, and reconciliation”. As Vice Chair of the APEC Vision Group, when building the APEC Vision after 2020, she emphasized that APEC must have three elements: “peace, self-reliance, and connection”… Those conclusions have made important contributions to shaping Vietnam’s policies and guidelines on international integration and multilateral diplomacy over the past decade.
The mark of the APEC Vision Group Vice Chair, according to the Executive Director of the APEC Secretariat, Mr. Eduardo Pedrosa, when recalling the memories of working with her, "clearly demonstrates leadership qualities, leading discussions, shaping goals and long-term orientation for APEC".
On the foreign affairs front, Ambassador Nguyet Nga is considered a “diplomat of negotiations”, a “steel woman” behind multilateral economic agreements and events. Although before leaving, she had many concerns and unfinished plans, she has lived her dream to the fullest, a journey worthy of pride, enough for her to be satisfied and let go like “finishing a field”. What is sown on that “land” will continue to sprout and grow as she wished.
Our sister, our teacher!
The news of Ms. Nguyet Nga's passing is like a silent note... a great loss, especially for those who are attached to and love the work of international integration and multilateral diplomacy.
Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, "still has strong memories of a person who devoted his whole life to the cause of foreign affairs and the country", not only a typical example of a diplomat full of courage, determination, always striving for perfection, but also "a big sister, always caring, instructing, encouraging, supporting, helping me to be more confident and to fulfill well the assigned responsibilities". Ambassador Nguyet Nga cares about the circumstances of each colleague, wholeheartedly instructing every little thing, meticulously, taking care of everything from small to big things, from researching and proposing ideas and initiatives of Vietnam at multilateral forums to every extra-hours meal for colleagues when they have to work too late at the office...
Sharing the feeling of “a big void just opened in my heart and memory”, Vietnamese Consul General in San Francisco Hoang Anh Tuan choked up, “remembering a diplomat with courage, intelligence, discipline, full of creative energy and always putting national interests first”. Ambassador Nguyet Nga was not only a good negotiator, but also an inspiration, paving the way for the younger generation of diplomats.
Ambassador Ngo Thi Hoa shared the above comments, with deep memories of the new year when she joined the Ministry, worked at the Southeast Asia - South Asia - South Pacific Department and was enthusiastically guided by Ms. Nguyet Nga in skills such as news synthesis, making a report, writing summary reports, thematic reports... In any job, she did it very professionally, scientifically and effectively.
After nearly 10 years of working with Ms. Nguyet Nga, Deputy Director of the Foreign Policy Department Nguyen Huong Tra remembers most the days of "making policies" together, starting from serious and substantive research, not just "doing homework" according to the annual orders of the Science Department... Not long after taking over as Director of the Multilateral Economic Cooperation Department, she established the Policy Research Department for a unit that was inclined towards multilateral "operations". She guided young diplomatic officers to take the first steps on the path of research, consulting and planning international integration and multilateral foreign affairs policies.
With the motto “diplomacy is tomorrow’s business, starting today”, Ambassador Nguyet Nga always encourages young cadres to develop independent thinking, take research as the foundation, and respect differences. Many cadres who have been guided by her are now holding important positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vietnamese representative agencies abroad, international organizations...
Remembering the veteran diplomat, Mr. Eduardo Pedrosa recalled an unforgettable memory of the warm outdoor lunch that Ambassador Nguyet Nga arranged for him, meticulously introducing each Vietnamese dish, and caring about whether he enjoyed it. Ambassador Nguyet Nga also made a foreigner like him feel like he was part of the group, an insider and not an outsider. “That was a very unique trait of Ambassador Nguyet Nga, someone who always knew how to connect people, always knew how to make others feel appreciated,” he sadly recalled and hoped that, “in her resting place, she will be at peace knowing that her legacy continues to spread, not only in Vietnam but also beyond.”
Ambassador Nguyet Nga is always passionate and dedicated to women's work, including international cooperation on gender equality, ASEAN women's solidarity, and connecting women in the diplomatic sector. She founded the ASEAN Community Women's Group in Hanoi (ACWH) and was the first Honorary President of the Group, with many initiatives and "first-time" marks.
That sister, that teacher has gone far away, but her loving, kind, and enthusiastic heart still beats forever in the minds of many generations of diplomats, not forgetting the values she left behind to continue writing pages of diplomatic history full of courage, humanity, and Vietnamese intelligence.
That smile... forever!
To the press, Ambassador Nguyet Nga is a special face. Many foreign reporters always have respect and admiration for her.
At many major events, despite her busy schedule, Ms. Nguyet Nga has never forgotten to accompany the press. She always takes advantage of the time before or after the program to answer interviews, enthusiastically answering all questions, not forgetting to remind: "If you have any questions, please contact me directly!"
Photojournalist Nguyen Hong ( The World and Vietnam Newspaper) has had many opportunities to work with her through photo books. From those times, Hong shared her gratitude for learning from Ambassador Nguyet Nga about archiving skills, knowledge about international integration, negotiations, stories behind important foreign affairs milestones and especially a creative and dedicated working spirit.
Journalist Duong Ngoc ( Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper) shared that in 2015, when he first entered the field of foreign journalism, he had the opportunity to interview Ms. Nguyet Nga privately. She openly shared her work and life, always keeping a bright smile. “My impression of her from then until now remains intact,” he said.
Many times, we asked her the secret to keeping a bright smile, she gently "revealed": You need to promote your femininity, know how to respect and beautify yourself. According to her, beautifying yourself helps women balance their state when work is stressful.
That smile… will forever remain in our hearts, those who love, respect, admire and respect her. She lived a brilliant, complete life, devoted to her dreams and ideals!
Somewhere there is a saying: "Whoever lives his dream is truly happy", I believe that is a happy journey that she has gone through!
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/dai-su-nguyen-thi-nguyet-nga-mot-cuoc-doi-tan-hien-cho-ngoai-giao-322135.html
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