Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung. (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Local-level foreign relations has achieved remarkable gains, contributing to the overall success of the country's diplomacy and local socio-economic development goals, said Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To AnhDung.
Despite the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic over the past two years, with a cohesive, flexible and breakthrough approach, local-level diplomacy was able to overcome difficulties and gradually translating the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress into reality and the results thus far have been quite well-rounded, Dung told the press ahead of the 20th National Conference on Local Diplomacy which will take place on December 13.
Vietnamese localities signed more than 200 international agreements with foreign partners - localities, organizations or foreign enterprises - to strengthen cooperation and expand markets for locally-made products, hesaid.
Many tradepromotion and connection activities were organised in the period including Vietnam'sAgricultural Digital Transformation International Forum 2021 and Meet Europe2021.
Culturaldiplomacy has been also actively deployed, creating a connection with political and economicdiplomacy. "Then singing" was included in the list of Intangible CulturalHeritage of Humanity in 2019, Nui Chua Biosphere Reserve and Kon HaNung Plateau of Vietnam were recognised as the world’s Biosphere Reserve in 2021, contributing to promoting the image of Vietnam and its people and cultureto friends around the world.
Localitieshave also made important contributions protecting the country's border, sea andisland sovereignty. The borderlines and the system of national border markers aremaintained, social order and safety in the border areas are ensured. Thedissemination of information and protection of fishermen and fishing vessels are well-coordinated and implemented synchronously between the Ministry of ForeignAffairs (MoFA), relevant agencies and localities, creating a solid foundation for securing the support of theinternational community.
Consular affairs and those relating to overseasVietnamese are also a bright spot, especially during the outbreak of theCOVID-19 pandemic. The localities have closely collaborated with the MoFA andrelevant authorities to promptly implement citizen protection workand organise more than 700 flights tobring home more than 200,000 Vietnamese citizens abroad as well as assisting citizens stranded overseas.
Regarding theorientation of external affairs in localities, Dung said the 13th NationalParty Congress has specified the goal of"building comprehensive and modern diplomacy with three pillars namelyparty diplomacy, state diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy.
In thecontext of the COVID-19 pandemic, external affairs of localities will focus onpromoting the role of economic diplomacy. Following the successes in vaccinediplomacy, economic diplomacy will be an important catalyst for localities inrestoring production and business and enhancing recovery.
It isnecessary to meet the needs and aspirations of localities such as digitaleconomy development, e-commerce, hi-tech agriculture and cleanenergy, Dung said.
Advantages of the localities will be fully exploited and at the same time efforts will be made to continue seekingand expanding new markets with great potential for local products; calling on theinternational community to join hands in realising the goals of inclusive andsustainable development.
According tothe official, the 20th National Conference on Local Diplomacy will be an important opportunity for localities, agencies andVietnamese representative agencies abroad and international partners to evaluatethe results achieved in the implementation of external affairs of localities, andsuggest measures to strengthen coordination and improve the efficiency of thiswork in the coming time.
Due toCOVID-19, the conference will be held in both in-person and virtual forms,ensuring pandemic prevention and control but still bringing efficiency to theevent.
Theconference is also a chance for delegates to share experience and exchangepractical measures to support Vietnamese localities in promoting internationalintegration for socio-economic development, he said, adding that it will focus on market expansion,investment promotion, taking advantage of external resources to overcomedifficulties caused by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and recoveringfrom the pandemic./.
