Day: December 15, 2021

The official visit to India by National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue demonstrates the importance that Vietnam attaches to its partnership with India in its external policy, Vietnamese Ambassador to India Pham Sanh Chau said, adding that the visit is expected to add a momentum to the cooperation between the two countries in all fields.

Granting an interview to Vietnam News Agency on the occasion of the NA leader’s visit, the diplomat looked back at progress in bilateral ties since the two countries lifted their relationship to a comprehensive strategic partnership five years ago.

In terms of politics, the two countries have shared high political trust, with India being one of the three comprehensive strategic partners of Vietnam currently.

In economy, two-way trade has hit 13 billion USD from only 200 million USD 20 years ago.

Meanwhile, both sides have made good progress in science-technology cooperation, including collaboration in nuclear security, agriculture as well as the production of fruit and livestock varieties, he noted.

The ambassador particularly underlined bilateral cooperation in people diplomacy, which has a long tradition especially when Buddhism is a traditional religion with great influence in Vietnam.

Finally, security-defence is a bright spot in the bilateral relationship, he said, noting that India has helped Vietnam train a large number officers and officials in different sectors.

The diplomat held that Vietnam and India share many similarities in viewpoint on regional and world situation. Currently, both countries are non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. Therefore, Vietnam and India have actively cooperated with each other over the recent past, he noted.

Ambassador Chau underlined that like never before, Vietnam and India should foster their partnership in security and defence, as India, with its rising role as a newly emerged power, has borne higher responsibilities for peace and security in the region. The diplomat expressed optimism about stronger collaboration between the two countries in protecting and promoting regional peace and security.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with 150 delegates to the 9th Women’s Congress of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), for the 2021 – 2026 tenure, in Hanoi on December 15.

The Government leader noted that the Party and State always attach importance to the position and role of the People’s Public Security force and appreciate its dedication to both state management activities and security – order safeguarding, thus contributing to national development and defence.

Attributing those achievements partly to the substantial contributions by policewomen, he asked the force, including its female members, to continue upholding their heroic tradition to fulfill the assigned tasks.

The more complex the situation is, the heavier the force’s duties are, the PM emphasised, affirming that the Party and State always create the best possible working conditions for the People’s Public Security force.

The 9th Women’s Congress of the MPS held a preparatory session on December 15 and will officially kick off on December 16 morning.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh spotlighted prominent achievements of the diplomatic sector over the last two years when addressing the 31st Diplomatic Conference that was held in both in-person and online forms in Hanoi on December 15.

In his speech, the PM said the sector has effectively implemented the Party’s foreign policy, especially fulfilling the role of the ASEAN Chair in 2020 and a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2020-2021 term.

The sector has also actively participated in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and in socio-economic recovery and development, including the vaccine strategy, he stressed.

However, besides such outstanding results, the country’s diplomatic sector still faces challenges related to strategic research and diplomatic database, he noted.

According to the PM, Vietnam will focus on the following major orientations: building a socialist democracy, a socialist rule-of-law state and socialist-oriented market economy, promoting active and proactive international integration and being an active member of the international community, towards the goal of becoming a developing nation with modern industry and upper middle-income level by 2030, and a developed and high-income country by 2045.

All diplomatic activities must be directed towards and for the interests of the country and people, and legitimate interests of the international community, the Government leader said.

Diplomatic work needs to show ” sincerity, trust, equality, efficiency and mutual development”, and must also be “resolute, steadfast, flexible, scientific and effective”, he stressed.

The PM outlined basic orientations for the three pillars of diplomacy – politics, economy, and culture. He said political diplomacy must follow a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation, and development.

Meanwhile, economic diplomacy must contribute to perfecting the institutions, attracting green and clean technology and green finance, promoting the effective implementation of free trade agreements and cooperation in training human resources, improving the investment environment, linking the country with global production and supply chains, and accelerating development of innovative startup ecosystem, he said.

Regarding cultural diplomacy, PM Chinh stressed that it is necessary to implement goals, viewpoints, tasks and solutions set forth by the 13th Party Congress and the last National Cultural Conference, thus contributing to preserving and upholding Vietnamese cultural and people values.

Participants assessed major trends in the current world situation and the global economy, and pointed out opportunities and challenges for Vietnam to successfully implement socio-economic development goals in the coming time.

They also proposed specific measures to implement the motto “economic diplomacy serving development, and taking people, localities and businesses as the centre of service”.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong was honoured with the Lenin Prize by the Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) at a ceremony held in Hanoi on December 15.

On behalf of the KPRF Central Committee, Vice Chairman Leonid Kalashnikov presented the Vietnamese leader with the noblest prize of the KPRF and the former Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

He affirmed that the prize demonstrates the respect for and recognition of the prominent contributions by General Secretary Trong, a brilliant politician highly valued in Russia and the world, as well as his unceasing efforts to solidify the Vietnam – Russia relations.

Vietnam’s success is a vivid illustration of the fact that socialism has been materialised, Kalashnikov said, stressing that the KPRF always attaches importance to the traditional friendship with the CPV and wishes that bilateral ties will be enhanced further, helping to promote the Vietnam – Russia comprehensive strategic partnership, for the sake of the two peoples and for regional and international peace and stability.

For his part, General Secretary Trong described the Lenin Prize as not only a recognition for himself but also the KPRF and Russian people’s respect for and sentiment towards the Vietnamese Party, State, and people. It is also a demonstration of the special long-standing ties between the CPV, the Vietnamese people and the Communist Party and people of the Soviet Union in the past and the Russian Federation at present.

He also highly valued Russia’s achievements in promoting national development and raising its stature in the international arena, along with the growth of the KPRF.

Trong thanked the enormous, wholehearted, and effective assistance that the former Soviet Union and today’s Russia have given to Vietnam. He pledged to join the KPRF and Russian partners to keep strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and the friendship between the two peoples.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

The National Assembly (NA) of Vietnam was selected to join the Executive Committee of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) in the next four-year term at the final plenum of the forum’s 29th annual meeting (APPF-29) on December 15 afternoon.

Aside from the Vietnamese parliament, those of Japan and New Zealand were also approved to be members of the Executive Committee for the new term, which will last from the APPF-30 to the APPF-33.

At the plenum, the meeting adopted a joint communiqué showing the member parliaments’ determination to enhance multilateral parliamentary cooperation and boost solidarity for post-pandemic recovery.

They also welcomed the Legislative Council of Brunei, from an observer, becoming a member of the APPF. Meanwhile, the parliament of the Republic of Korea handed over the APPF chairmanship to the Thai counterpart, which is scheduled to host the APPF-30 in 2022.

Earlier the same day, the member parliaments discussed the Asia-Pacific cooperation at the third plenary session.

They stressed that the region and the world are facing unprecedented challenges which have severely affected socio-economic development. They pointed out the need to strengthen parliamentary cooperation among the APPF members to cope with these issues and work towards sustainable development.

Le Thu Ha, standing member of the NA’s Committee for External Relations, said the parliament of Vietnam, a country highly vulnerable to climate change, has approved many legal documents creating the legal basis for efforts against this global phenomenon, enhanced ties with other legislatures, and coordinated with international organisations.

Attending the APPF-29, the Vietnamese NA delegation contributed many important ideas to the meeting, and the opinions were reflected in the event’s joint communiqué.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue on December 15 visited the Vietnamese Embassy in New Delhi and met the Vietnamese community in India.

The top legislator emphasised that the Vietnam-India comprehensive strategic partnership continues to develop robustly across all pillars, achieving high efficiency and reliability.

He said his current visit aims to make contribution to efforts made by the countries’ Parties, States and peoples in deepening the partnership.

Hue stated given complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vietnamese Party and State, with the spirit of leaving no one behind, have promptly implemented support measures, including the organisation of nearly 200 flights to carry home more than 53,000 Vietnamese citizens from over 50 countries and territories.

He stressed that overseas Vietnamese is an indispensable part and a resource of Vietnam.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

A proactive diplomacy that pursues peace is the key helping Vietnam obtain achievements during its integration into the world over the past years and raise its stature in the international arena, a Cuban expert has said.

In a recent interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency, Dr Ruvislei González Sáez, Vice Chairman of the Cuba – Vietnam Friendship Association, spoke highly of the comprehensiveness and consistency in the principle of building an international environment of peace, stability, and mutual respect in Vietnam’s foreign policy under the Party’s leadership.

He held that although some areas or economic indexes of Vietnam have yet to reach the level of a middle power, its diplomacy has achieved this level in comparison with other countries. This could be seen in 2010 and 2020, when the country held the rotational chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Efforts to persuade other countries’ recognition of Vietnam as a market economy are an example of the Vietnamese diplomacy’s direct contributions to the realisation of national development targets, he noted.

The popularisation of values and practices has substantially helped the country increase foreign direct investment, create more jobs, and boost chances to access advanced technologies, which has evidenced the harmony between diplomatic activities and socio-economic interests, according to González.

He expressed his belief that in the time ahead, Vietnam will also record great strides in cultural diplomacy to contribute to overall diplomatic achievements and help international friends have better understanding of its identity like what some neighbouring Asian nations have done.

Regarding the Vietnam – Cuba relations, the expert said people-to-people exchange has the key role to play in further enhancing the special bilateral ties, adding that the strong mutual trust, the Party and State leaders’ resolve, and the special sentiment between the two peoples have been making the countries’ relations a role model of the era.

Source: Vietnam News Agency