State President Nguyen Minh Triet has appointed 22 new ambassadors and 11 new consul generals to serve overseas.

He received the diplomats at a ceremony jointly held by the Presidential Office and the Foreign Ministry in Hanoi on February 14.

“Be flexible and persuasive at work,” Triet told the newly-appointed ambassadors at the following reception.

“However, you also need to be proactive in defending our country’s national interests whenever it is needed, especially in the fields of democracy, human rights and religious affairs,” he said.

He asked the newly-appointed ambassadors and consul generals to work harder to heighten the country’s prestige globally and bolster its friendship with other nations.

The State President also asked the diplomats to study the positive points experienced by their host countries to apply them during Vietnams national construction and development process.

“In the current circumstance, you, the ambassadors, need to boost bilateral economic diplomacy,” President Triet said, advising them to link local investors and potential partners in the countries where they are posted.

He also demanded that the Vietnamese embassies and consulate generals abroad constantly strengthen Party building work and their staff’s political firmness.

“Embassies and consulate generals must be a home for all Vietnamese living abroad and encourage solidarity with international friends,” the President noted./.