When sharing the view that cultural diplomacy is an effective tool of “soft power”, Deputy Minister Ha Kim Ngoc said: If “soft power” is a tree, then cultural diplomacy is the root because it transforms the strength of our nation’s 4,000-year-old civilization into the soft power of the country today. At the same time, cultural diplomacy is also the crystallized flowers and the fragrance that brings Vietnamese cultural values to the international community.
In October 2024, the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO will join UNESCO Paris and Cao Bang Province to organize the 8th UNESCO Global Geoparks Conference in the Asia-Pacific region. The event will be attended by about 400 international guests, including UNESCO leaders, ambassadors, experts and representatives of localities with geoparks from 44 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. This could be the largest-scale cultural diplomacy activity that Vietnam will host in 2024.
"For the locality and the people in the country, the 60 UNESCO honorary titles not only increase the pride of the people but also the prestige and image of the locality," said Mr. Ngoc, and analyzed: Ninh Binh, by promoting heritage values, of which the Trang An World Heritage Site is the core, has effectively carried out economic restructuring.
Currently, only 10% of the province's workforce is in agriculture, 45% in industrial parks and 45% in tourism. Agriculture also focuses on clean, unique, endemic and specialty products for tourism. Tourism revenue in 2023 will jump, double the revenue in 2019.
“Thus, the achievements of cultural diplomacy over the past years, especially in 2023, have not only contributed to making Vietnam's "soft power" tree grow stronger and spread wider, but also spread those results to localities and deeply penetrate the lives of many people across the country," Deputy Minister Ha Kim Ngoc affirmed.
Culture is the shortest path from heart to heart, an effective bridge connecting with other nations, through sharing the beauty, values and traditions of the Vietnamese people with international friends. Every idea, every cultural diplomacy event organized comes from the love for the homeland, the country and pride in Vietnamese culture, with the desire to show an image of Vietnam as friendly, peaceful, and cooperative with countries around the world, as well as the desire to share its cultural values, and learn and respect the cultural values of other countries.
Returning to the foreign affairs activities of Vietnam's senior leaders, according to the assessment of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc, these are not only political and economic meetings, but also occasions to demonstrate the hospitality and friendliness of the Vietnamese people.
Images of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong enjoying tea and talking with General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping; President Vo Van Thuong and the President of the Republic of Korea walking around Hoan Kiem Lake; Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presenting calligraphy "Sincerity, Affection, Trust" to the Prime Minister of Japan; National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue presenting books to the President of the Cuban National Assembly... have left a deep impression on the hearts of the Vietnamese people and those of other countries.
Organizing cultural diplomacy events and experiences close to local culture demonstrates the connection and understanding between Vietnam and other countries in many aspects. First of all, according to Mr. Ngoc, it is Vietnam's interest and respect for other cultures, as well as pride and confidence in Vietnamese cultural identity. Second, it is the discovery and exploitation of similarities and cultural diversity between countries, contributing to strengthening and tightening friendship between peoples. Third, it is sending a message about Vietnam's development and integration, as well as the desire to cooperate with other countries in building a world of peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development.
The story takes us back to July 2023 during President Vo Van Thuong's visit to Austria, where for the first time, a Vietnamese symphony orchestra with artists such as Meritorious Artist Bui Cong Duy (violin), Meritorious Artist Tan Minh, conductor Tran Nhat Minh and many other famous artists accompanied the President to visit and perform in this country.
Speaking about that, Mr. Ha Kim Ngoc said that our talented artists skillfully borrowed your “musical language” to tell the story of Vietnamese culture, from which the message was received naturally and emotionally. The performance deepened the good impression of Vietnam in the hearts of Austrian people. The program was loved and had to be extended by 40 minutes to respond to the enthusiastic response from the Austrian audience.
The public's response is the clearest proof that our music industry has been deeply integrating internationally, absorbing the quintessence of humanity, and enriching the national musical treasure.
Then, within the framework of the President's official visit to Japan on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Japan, Vietnamese and Japanese artists together had an extremely unique and sophisticated performance, creating a strong impression and being highly appreciated by the audience.
Every idea and every cultural diplomacy event organized comes from the love for the homeland and country and pride in Vietnamese culture, with the desire to show an image of Vietnam as friendly, peaceful, and cooperative with countries around the world, as well as the desire to share its cultural values, and learn and respect the cultural values of other countries.
Sharing the recent news that Vietnam has become Vice President of the UNESCO General Assembly, Mr. Ngoc affirmed: We are very proud to be elected as one of the Vice Presidents of the UNESCO General Assembly at the 42nd Session, representing the Asia-Pacific region and being elected to the World Heritage Committee with a very high number of votes. This is Vietnam's success in implementing the Resolution of the 13th Congress on multilateralization, diversification and comprehensive, extensive and effective international integration, promoting and elevating multilateral diplomacy.
At the same time, this is also proof that we are on the right track, effectively implementing the Cultural Diplomacy Strategy to 2030, receiving widespread support from other countries.
“Realizing that this is a good opportunity for Vietnam to proactively and actively contribute more substantially to the management process, shaping important policies and decisions of UNESCO, contributing to protecting national interests, serving the cause of national construction and development, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnamese representative agencies abroad will synchronously deploy and realize ideas to take advantage of UNESCO's initiatives, together preserving and promoting cultural values, heritages and other UNESCO titles of Vietnam,” Deputy Minister Ha Kim Ngoc affirmed.
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