Foreign relations will create momentum for the country to rise.
Báo Xây dựng•28/12/2024
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son stated that diplomatic activities have been implemented proactively and positively, achieving many substantive results, creating a new diplomatic stature, and providing favorable momentum for the country to enter an era of progress.
A new level of foreign policy
In an interview with the press, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son assessed that in 2024, amidst the continuing complex changes in the world situation, Vietnam maintained a peaceful , stable, and developing national situation. Furthermore, Vietnam is considered by international public opinion as one of the bright spots in the region. "Foreign affairs activities have been implemented proactively and positively, achieving many substantive results, creating a new level of foreign relations, and providing favorable momentum for the country to enter a new era of national progress," Mr. Son affirmed.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son shared this in an interview.
Highlighting specific achievements, the Deputy Prime Minister stated that in 2024, Vietnam conducted a total of 59 foreign affairs activities, including 21 visits to other countries and participation in multilateral conferences; welcomed 25 delegations of foreign leaders to visit Vietnam, and signed more than 170 new cooperation agreements in many fields, especially those with needs and interests. This year, Vietnam upgraded its relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with major partners such as Australia, France, and Malaysia, upgraded its relationship to a Strategic Partnership with Brazil, and established comprehensive partnerships with Mongolia and the UAE. In addition, with the establishment of diplomatic relations with Malawi, Vietnam officially has diplomatic relations with all African countries, bringing the total number of countries with diplomatic relations to 194.
Remittances are projected to reach $16 billion.
According to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, another bright spot is that economic diplomacy continues to make a positive contribution to the country's overall economic achievements despite the challenging global economic climate. In 2024, import and export turnover is expected to reach a new record high of over 800 billion USD; Vietnam continues to be one of the world's largest recipients of FDI; and it welcomed over 15.8 million international tourists in the first 11 months of the year, a 44% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Economic diplomacy has become a fundamental and central task of diplomacy, and economic content has become a focus in foreign affairs activities at all levels, including high-level diplomacy and various sectors, with the motto of putting people, businesses, and localities at the center of service.
Nearly 6 million Vietnamese people living and working in over 130 countries are an inseparable part of the nation. Investment, remittances, and knowledge from overseas Vietnamese are truly important resources for national development, with 421 FDI projects and a total registered capital of US$1.72 billion in 42 out of 63 provinces and cities; remittances are projected to reach US$16 billion in 2024.
Economic diplomacy and foreign economic activities have truly provided impetus for economic recovery and growth in the post-Covid-19 period. "Looking back at the lessons of pioneering countries, of the Asian 'dragons' and 'tigers,' in this era of self-improvement, the focus of economic diplomacy is how to position the country optimally within the main global development trends and movements, thereby expanding the development space and creating new opportunities for strategic breakthroughs," he shared. The world is facing many complex, unpredictable, and difficult-to-forecast developments, but it also opens up many opportunities for countries to leverage new growth drivers such as the green economy, the digital economy, science and technology… to achieve breakthroughs. Domestically, with the new strength and momentum after nearly 40 years of reform and in the face of the urgent demands of the times, it can be said that this is a time of convergence to usher the country into a new era, as General Secretary To Lam recently stated. According to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, in order to make the most of these opportunities, we need to deeply understand that to enter a new era, economic diplomacy needs to continue to play a more effective, profound, substantive, and insightful role in serving businesses, people, and localities.
The role of foreign policy and diplomacy in an era of progress.
Sharing his views on Vietnam's foreign policy and diplomacy in the era of national progress, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son quoted General Secretary To Lam as saying that the country is standing at a new historical starting point. "Bringing the country into a new era, an era of progress, is in line with the trends of the times and the practical experiences of countries that have gone before. The history of human development has proven that for a nation to rise in the world's politics , economy, and civilization, it requires a strong breakthrough, creating fundamental qualitative changes," said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son. In today's interdependent world, the stability and development of nations cannot be separated from the external regional and international environment. The factor ensuring the nation's progress is a strategic environment of peace, friendship, and cooperation conducive to development. Therefore, the task of foreign affairs is to consolidate and maintain this stable situation in the face of changes, creating conditions for the country to enter a new stage of development. In addition, according to the Deputy Prime Minister, foreign affairs can play a constructive and driving role, opening up new opportunities for the country to rise. In this context, foreign affairs plays a role in connecting internal and external forces; internal forces are fundamental and long-term, while external forces are important and breakthrough, such as resources in trade, investment, ODA, and economic development and integration trends. Furthermore, Vietnam has the capacity and conditions to participate more, but is also expected to contribute more to peace, development, and the resolution of common global issues, contributing to building and protecting a fair and equitable international order based on international law. Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son further shared that the country's historical and cultural stature, political and economic position, create conditions for leveraging the nation's "soft power." At the same time, ushering the country into a new era requires building an increasingly comprehensive, modern, and professional foreign policy and diplomacy that meets the demands of the new period.
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