HA NOI: Viet Nam will make greater efforts to deepen its external relations, primarily with key partners and traditional friends, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said at a conference held in Ha Noi yesterday to mark 70 years of Viet Nam’s diplomacy.
Under its multilateral diplomacy, Viet Nam continued to be a proactive and responsible ASEAN member, Minh said. The nation also participated in other multilateral mechanisms, first and foremost the United Nations, he added..
Minh said Viet Nam remembered the huge support from the international community during its fight for national liberation. He said the nation hoped to receive more global assistance to contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the region and beyond.
Chinese Ambassador Hong Xiaoyong spoke of the Vietnamese diplomacy sector’s efforts in building a socialist country of independence, self-reliance and happiness. He hailed the sector’s active contributions to the maintenance of peace, stability and development in the region.
Meanwhile, Cambodian Ambassador Hul Phany highlighted Viet Nam’s valuable assistance in liberating Cambodia from Pol Pot’s genocide as well as in economic development and promoting friendship between the two countries’ peoples.
World Bank Country Director for Viet Nam Victoria Kwakwa emphasised the country’s contribution to peace, stability and prosperity in the region. She said Viet Nam was a country at peace with itself, and with a strong sense of national identity. The nation’s strong political stability was a key attraction for external investors.
In their speeches, Giles Lever and Hugh Borrowman, the British and Australian Ambassadors respectively, said Viet Nam had a consistent policy of external affairs which has been implemented effectively. They said this showed through the country’s activeness in multilateral mechanisms such as international peacekeeping activities and economic connections. As a result, it had significantly contributed to consolidating the role of international law as well as peace and stability in the region and around the world, they said.
Regarding future orientations, delegates said they believed Viet Nam would play a crucial role in and make considerable contributions to the international community, especially in the maintenance of regional peace and stability through its stance of resolving disputes by peaceful means and in line with international law.
US Ambassador Ted Osius said Vietnamese diplomacy always pursued fundamental principles on international relations, such as respecting international law, respecting the interests of Viet Nam and partners as well as maintaining peace and stability in the region. He said he believed Viet Nam would play an increasingly important role in regional and international diplomacy.
Osius said that for Viet Nam, the way ahead was clear – successful global integration, increasing prosperity for its citizens, and a more responsible role in promoting peace and stability for this region and beyond.
Participants also highlighted the role of Viet Nam in the establishment of the ASEAN Community as well as recognising the country’s capacity to cooperate with partners to jointly address global challenges.
Babeth Lefur from Oxfam in Viet Nam said the UK non-governmental organisation’s continued to support the Vietnamese Government in socio-economic development and at multilateral forums.
UN Resident Co-ordinator in Viet Nam, Pratibha Mehta, said that the UN would assist Viet Nam implement Millennium Development Goals and actively participate in regional and global multilateral mechanisms.
EU Ambassador Franz Jessen congratulated the Foreign Ministry on its achievements over the past 70 years, saying Viet Nam had become an active member of the international community, and one of the leading countries in the region.
With its dynamic economy, strategic location, growing population and strong historical and cultural roots, Viet Nam had taken its place in the society of nations that is the basis for international relations.
