Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks at a conference on economic diplomacy with ambassadors and heads of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad, Hanoi, December 20, 2024.

The PM highlighted 700 economic diplomacy activities, trade and investment, and tourism promotion programs carried out by Vietnam’s diplomatic missions abroad, and over 400 trade and investment promotion activities of localities in Vietnam and other countries. Economic diplomacy has truly become a key component in all external affairs, especially high-level diplomacy, he said.

PM Chinh urged greater efforts to promote the signing of legal frameworks such as free trade agreements (FTAs); reform visa policies; and foster connections between businesses of Vietnam and other countries.

He also requested renewing traditional growth drivers such as export, investment, and consumption while promoting new growth motivations such as the green economy, digital economy, circular economy, knowledge economy, sharing economy, and night-time economy; and concentrating on building brands for Vietnamese products and services, and diversifying products, markets, supply chains.

The PM assigned specific tasks, including calling on the US to promptly remove Vietnam from the lists of high-tech export restrictions, and soon recognize Vietnam's market economy; promoting cooperation with China in border gate economic development and transport connectivity, particularly railway connection; and cooperating with Middle Eastern countries to build an international financial hub in Ho Chi Minh City.