Jean Pierre Archambault, General Secretary of the France-Vietnam Friendship Association (AAFV) (Photo: VNA) Commenting on Vietnam's efforts in international integration and people-to-people diplomacy development, Archambault said Vietnam won two wars, making a hallmark in the world history of the 20th century - the Dien Bien Phu victory that ended the struggle against the French colonialists in 1954 and the victory in the resistance war against US imperialism in 1975.
These victories showed Vietnam’s success in struggling and mobilising international support and solidarity, and its integration into the anti-oppression movement of peoples around the world, he said.
After 1975, Vietnam helped Cambodia to overthrow the Pol Pot genocidal regime and struggled for the lifting of the trade embargo of the US and Western countries that lasted until 1994.
Archambault affirmed that all of these have forged Vietnam's strong political will to fully integrate into the international community.
The most convincing evidence of this success is that at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UN), Vietnam was elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2020-2021 term with 192 out of 193 votes, he noted.
Regarding people-to-people diplomacy, Vietnam has also received great support from friendship and solidarity associations around the world, including AAFV.
Established in 1961, AAFV has continuously developed cooperative relations with friendship associations with Vietnam to carry out solidarity activities with the Vietnamese people, such as providing material and spiritual support for Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange/dioxin, and support of AAFV’s chapters for disadvantaged Vietnamese people.
AAFV has also organised seminars and published the Perspective magazine to help the French people understand more about Vietnam, contributing to developing dynamic and effective cooperation models between the two countries.
Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang (Photo: VNA) According to Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang, along with the Party and State's policies on diplomacy, people-to-people diplomacy plays a role as a guideline for the embassy's activities.
The patriotic movement of overseas Vietnamese in France founded by President Ho Chi Minh over 100 years ago, has been supported by the embassy, contributing significantly to the national defence and construction in the homeland, he said.
In the coming time, the embassy will gather resources to support friendship and solidarity associations with Vietnam in France, considering this one of the leading and core factors for maintaining the friendship and partnership with the European country, thus mobilising more resources to support socio-economic development and perform diplomatic goals of the country, the ambassador said./.
