Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong addresses the National Conference on Foreign Affairs on Dec 14, 2021.

The National Conference on Foreign Affairs, organized to implement the Resolution of the 13^th National Party Congress, is the first diplomatic conference ever organized by the Politburo and Party Secretariat.

The conference took place amidst difficult regional and global challenges, most notably the COVID-19 pandemic. It is an historic event in Vietnam’s development. Party leader Trong called for a modern diplomacy imbued with Vietnamese identity. Diplomacy, he said, must meet the demands of the era and serve national development. But safeguarding national interests must be its ultimate goal. Mr. Trong said defending national interests is not a new task, but a Vietnamese tradition for thousands of years.

“In our history of thousands of years of national construction and defense, independence, self-reliance, and safeguarding national interests have been constant principles guiding all activities. In addition to tenaciously struggling to defend national territory, independence, and sovereignty, our ancestors always paid special attention to foreign affairs and created their own diplomatic tradition and identity which included magnanimity, humanity, harmony, and respect for fairness, justice, and righteousness, with the motto ‘fighting tyranny with great justice, replacing violence with humanity’ and ‘extinguish the fire of war forever, laying the foundation for eternal peace.’ Diplomacy is used to prevent or to end war in the most advantageous position. Diplomacy must also serve home affairs and national construction and defense. It’s the ideology of our ancestors, which has maintained its values forever.”

As Vietnam deeply integrates globally, the task of protecting national interests must be paid due attention. Party leader Trong said the core of the external policy of the Vietnamese Party and State, which is stated in the Resolution of the 13^th National Party Congress, is independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation, development, multilateralisation, diversification of relations, and being a friend, reliable partner, and active and responsible member of the international community.

It’s vital to protect national interests based on the UN Charter and international laws for equality, cooperation, and mutual benefit. Diplomacy is not an extension of internal policies, but a powerful driving force for national development, Mr. Trong said.

“The key task is to implement and promote the results of multilateral forums that Vietnam has joined and collaborated with partners to enhance the implementation of Vietnam’s initiatives. It’s necessary to expand and improve the efficiency of diplomatic activities in economic, culture, politics, and national defense cooperation, foster partnerships with neighboring and powerful countries, maintain relationships, reinforce political trust, and handle differences and arising problems in a spirit of cooperation and friendship, controlling disagreements, and respecting international law and regional practices,” said Mr. Trong.

Party leader Trong said that in the face of complications and changes in the region and the world, diplomacy must ensure the overarching goal of maintaining a peaceful, stable, and favorable environment for socio-economic development.

In order to achieve that goal, it’s necessary to persistently, calmly, lucidly, and properly handle foreign relations, including sovereignty and territorial integrity issues.