President Vo Van Thuong helds talks with Party General Secretary and President of LaosThongloun Sisoulith, April, 2023. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam left special imprints at international and regional forums with President Vo Van Thuong’s official visit to Laos in April and visit to the UK in May to attend the coronation of King Charles III; Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s attendance at the 42nd ASEAN Summit in April and the expanded G7 Summit in May; and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue’s official visits to Cuba, Argentina, and Uruguay in April. Vietnam has consolidated its multifaceted cooperation with other countries to create new opportunities and attracts support and resources for national socio-economic development.

The message: Vietnam works with other countries to build a peaceful world

At the diplomatic events, Vietnamese leaders have demonstrated that Vietnam is working with other countries to build a peaceful, stable world.

President Vo Van Thuong’s visit to Laos involved 20 activities. At a meeting with Laos’s Laotian General Secretary and President, Mr. Thuong confirmed the importance of the Vietnam-Laos special relationship and said the two countries will progress side by side to become rich and powerful.

Attending 40 events at the expanded G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh delivered a number of important messages about promoting more substantive and effective global partnership, international solidarity, and multilateral cooperation; sustainable development, responding to climate change, and ensuring balance and rationality; harmonizing interests among countries to leave no one behind; and working with the UN and other countries to solve global problems.

Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son said, “In multilateralism, we have proposed solutions from the perspective of a developing country and an economy in transition toward industrialization, modernization, and comprehensive global integration.

The Prime Minister’s recommendations raised at the conference were highly appreciated by countries and international organizations, and contribute to taking balanced, holistic approaches to solving global challenges, particularly in food, health, climate change response, energy transition, and environmental protection, said Mr. Son. 

At the ASEAN Summit, Prime Minister Chinh delivered the message that Vietnam is building a peaceful and stable world with other countries. The message was also clearly stated by National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue during his official visit to Cuba, Argentina, and Uruguay.  

Evidence of Vietnam’s development and global integration

Other important foreign affairs activities of the Party and State leaders deliver evidence of Vietnam’s development and global integration. President Vo Van Thuong held talks with Governor-General of Australia David Hurley during his state visit to Vietnam in April. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala on an official visit to Vietnam in April. Other major visits were those of Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and a high-ranking delegation of Luxembourg, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, President and Chief Financial Officer of Samsung Electronics Park Hark Kyu, and WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Saadi Salama, Palestinian Ambassador to Vietnam, said, “In the past people knew about Vietnam through wars. Now people want to learn about Vietnam’s socio-economic development and amazing tourism. Vietnam will become a key destination of foreigners. When they travel around the world, they’ll talk about Vietnam to their friends.”

High-level diplomatic activities by the Vietnamese Party and State have raised Vietnam’s status and role in the international arena, protected and promoted Vietnam’s legitimate interests, and realized the external relations guidelines of the 13^th National Party Congress to uphold independence, self-reliance, multilateralization, and diversification for peace, stability, and prosperity in the region and the world.