Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (Photo: VNA) TheMinistry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) held a teleconference on July 29 to discussmeasures for stepping up economic diplomacy to serve the COVID-19 combat andefforts to achieve this year’s socio-economic development targets.
Addressingthe event, which gathered all the 96 ambassadors and heads of overseasrepresentative agencies of Vietnam, Minister Bui Thanh Son said the brightestspot of economic diplomacy in the first six months was vaccine diplomacy, whichhas helped persuade partners to provide the country with over 14 million dosesof COVID-19 vaccine.
TheMoFA has made proactive moves and coordinated with relevant parties to dealwith issues emerging in Vietnam’s economic relations with other countries andto connect many foreign investors with Vietnamese localities and enterprises,he noted.
Heheld that the pandemic will not end soon but develop more complicatedly, andthat it will ease thanks to vaccination, which will create conditions for theeconomy to reopen.
Askingdiplomats to take proactive and creative action to perform their duties, Sonsaid apart from promoting vaccine diplomacy, they also need to keep a closewatch to discover new trends during and after the pandemic so as to advise theGovernment about national development strategies and orientations; furtherexpand and intensify Vietnam’s economic ties with important partners andcapitalise on free trade agreements; step up locality and business matchingactivities, adapt external economic activities to the COVID-19 pandemic; andproactively propose plans and road maps for resuming economic activities andtravel between Vietnam and other countries.
Tocarry out these tasks, the minister called on the entire diplomatic sector toexert every effort and resource for the realisation of national developmentgoals.
Fortheir part, the heads of Vietnam’s overseas representative bodies said they areaware of the their responsibility towards the homeland and the people amid theentire nation striving to obtain the “twin targets” of curbing the pandemic andrecovering and boosting socio-economic development./.
VNA
