Hanoi (VNA) - Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung hosted a reception in Hanoi on July 31 for Vietnam's honorary consuls abroad following the conclusion of the second Conference of Vietnam's Honorary Consuls and its sideline activities.
Minister Trung congratulated the delegates on the conference's success and thanked the honorary consuls for their longstanding contributions to citizen protection, as well as trade, investment, education, tourism and cultural exchanges.
He described honorary consuls as an indispensable extension of Vietnam's diplomatic network.
The minister highlighted Vietnam's achievements after 40 years of Doi Moi (Renewal). The country has established diplomatic relations with 194 nations and strategic or comprehensive partnerships with 45 countries, including all five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Vietnam is now among the world's 32 largest economies and participates in 17 free trade agreements covering partners accounting for about 95% of global GDP. This year's trade is expected to exceed 1 trillion USD, while Vietnam remains ASEAN's third-largest destination for foreign direct investment. Poverty has also fallen from 60–70% in 1986 to just 1.3% under the country's multidimensional poverty standard, he noted.
The minister added that Vietnam is addressing challenges including workforce quality and its reliance on assembly-based manufacturing by shifting towards a growth model driven by science and technology, innovation, digital transformation and green development.
He reaffirmed Vietnam's goals of completing its industrialisation process and achieving upper-middle-income status by 2030, and becoming a high-income developed country by 2045.
To support these objectives, he urged honorary consuls to focus on three priorities - understanding Vietnam's development policies, particularly in trade, socio-economic development and digital transformation; promoting mutual understanding and connecting Vietnam with international resources, especially green technology, high technology and finance; and expanding cultural exchanges while continuing to protect the legitimate rights and interests of Vietnamese citizens and organisations abroad.
Trung pledged that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, particularly its Consular Department and representative missions abroad, would continue maintaining close coordination and providing timely support to help honorary consuls fulfil their responsibilities.
Speaking on behalf of the honorary consuls, Georgios Christophides, Vietnam's Honorary Consul in Cyprus, expressed appreciation for the warm reception from the ministry and local authorities.
He said the conference marked the first time honorary consuls from around the world had gathered in Vietnam, with visits and working sessions in Hai Phong and Quang Ninh offering first-hand insight into the country's modern infrastructure and dynamic economic development.
He affirmed that the honorary consular network will continue acting as members of the Vietnam family, helping attract finance, green and high technologies, while strengthening citizen protection under the guidance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs./.
