Former President Tran Duc Luong and President Chirac's 'wonderful' event

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Van Bich (former Deputy Head of the Office of the President , assistant to President Tran Duc Luong from 1997 to 2006) said that when Mr. Tran Duc Luong took office as President, Vietnam had just lifted the embargo and normalized relations with the US for 2 years.

This was also a difficult period when our country's reputation and position in the international arena were not high. The Party and State's policy at that time was to promote the implementation of an independent, self-reliant, open, diversified and multilateral foreign policy, wanting to be friends with all countries.

The first "test" for foreign policy in the reform period

At this time, foreign affairs activities began to be vibrant, starting with the 7th Francophone Summit held in Hanoi . This was the largest international conference that our country had hosted up to that time, and also the first and only time to date that it took place in Asia.

The 7th Francophone Summit held in Hanoi in November 1997 was the first multilateral international summit held in Vietnam. Photo: VNA

Coincidentally, the conference was hosted in Vietnam (November 1997) right after President Tran Duc Luong took office (September 1997). The conference, chaired by the President with the theme "Strengthening Francophone cooperation and solidarity for peace and socio-economic development", attracted 35 heads of state.

President Tran Duc Luong directed the organization and successful chairing of the conference, contributing to enhancing Vietnam's foreign relations position.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Bich said that this was the first "experiment" in implementing the foreign policy of the Party and State in the renovation period. The success of the conference paved the way for the development of increasingly deep relations with other countries and enhanced Vietnam's position in the international arena, while also providing experience for hosting multilateral conferences in the future.

General Secretary Do Muoi, President Tran Duc Luong and French President Jacques Chirac at the Francophone Summit in 1997. Photo: Archive

In addition, President Tran Duc Luong also paid special attention to directing the diplomatic sector and relevant agencies; directing the contents, especially in economic cooperation and promoting WTO accession; building programs for official friendship visits to countries and inviting heads of state to visit our country...

Having accompanied President Tran Duc Luong to attend the United Nations Millennium Summit (September 2000), Mr. Bich said that up to that point, this was the second time Vietnam had a head of state speak at the United Nations (the first was Mr. Le Duc Anh).

Mr. Bich said that in the morning of the opening session, President Tran Duc Luong gave an important speech, directly mentioning the priorities that the international community and the United Nations need to address. These are the issues of development; hunger eradication and poverty reduction; strengthening peace and stability, building fair and civilized international relations; and respecting the independence and sovereignty of nations. The President also proposed the initiative of making the first decade of the 21st century "the decade of the highest global efforts to eradicate hunger and reduce poverty".

This proposal was highly appreciated by the United Nations. And five years later, when meeting to review five years of implementing the millennium program, the United Nations General Assembly highly appreciated and commended Vietnam's achievements in hunger eradication and poverty reduction in the early years of the 21st century.

Make the world see a peaceful and beautiful Vietnam

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Bich also said that during his term, President Tran Duc Luong made many trips to promote and expand cooperation with many countries in Europe, Asia, Southeast Asia, America and Africa.

General Secretary Le Kha Phieu, President Tran Duc Luong and Chairman of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President of Laos Khamtai Siphandon at the Presidential Palace, January 4, 1999. Photo: VNA

Continuing to talk about his experience in organizing multilateral conferences, Mr. Bich told about the success of the Asia-Europe Summit (ASEM 5) in Hanoi in October 2004. At that time, President Tran Duc Luong was assigned to prepare the content and chair the conference.

As a member of the conference preparation subcommittee, Mr. Bich clearly remembers that from the beginning of 2004, many Western news agencies and newspapers deliberately focused on the contradictions in viewpoints between the two continents of Asia and Europe, especially the issue of admitting new members or doubts about whether the conference would take place in Hanoi or not...

Faced with that situation, our Party and State leaders have conducted many contacts with leaders of several countries to discuss and invite them to attend the conference.

President Tran Duc Luong met President Fidel Castro during his official friendship visit to Cuba, April 9, 2000. Photo: VNA

British Prime Minister Tony Blair is considered by Western news agencies to have a different point of view in accepting new members. However, during his talks with President Tran Duc Luong, he expressed: "Public opinion is always the same when major political events take place", and believes that the conference will be successful. He also agreed with the President of Vietnam that "one country's problems should not affect the good goals that the two continents must strive for".

During the preparation of the conference, President Tran Duc Luong closely directed everything from the agenda to the reception work, clearly demonstrating Vietnam's respect and hospitality, making the international community see a peaceful and beautiful Vietnam...

President Tran Duc Luong delivers the opening speech at the 5th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM 5) on the morning of October 8, 2004 at Ba Dinh Hall. Photo: VNA

With the theme "Towards a more vibrant and substantive Asia-Europe partnership", the heads of state and government of 13 Asian countries and 25 European countries came to Hanoi to attend the conference. This time, ASEM admitted 13 new members, including the remaining 3 ASEAN countries: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and 10 new member countries of the European Union (EU).

The great success of the conference was highly appreciated by many leaders of the countries. Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that "the most miraculous thing about this summit is that it finally happened" and the Hanoi Declaration on Asia-Europe Economic Partnership was achieved...

French President Jacques Chirac told President Tran Duc Luong: “The Eastern people have a saying ‘no one is perfect’. For me, the ASEM 5 conference has only one shortcoming, which is that I have to say goodbye to you and the Vietnamese people too soon because I have other plans...”.

When leaving Vietnam, he put his hand on his chest and said to the Vietnamese President “Wonderful!”, as if to talk about the success of the ASEM Conference similar to the Francophone Summit held in Hanoi a few years ago.

On October 28, 2002, at the Élysée Palace, French President Jacques Chirac awarded the First Class Legion of Honor to President Tran Duc Luong. Photo: VNA

For his part, President of the European Commission Romano Prodi said that ASEM 5 was not only a historic conference with the admission of 13 members at once, but also the first conference to address many practical issues, most notably the commitment to economic cooperation. All heads of delegations expressed their gratitude for this.

The South Korean President, who visited Vietnam for the first time, repeatedly expressed his admiration for the friendly attitude and peaceful atmosphere of the Vietnamese people and country...

"I am very happy and proud of the success of the ASEM 5 conference. The sincere and positive comments from the leaders of the participating countries clearly show that Vietnam's position has been raised one step higher in the international arena," Mr. Bich emotionally shared.

Vietnamnet.vn

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