Last year, Vietnam did a great job organizing many events promoting its land and people. In 2012 the country will continue to use diplomacy to promote its culture.

Photo: cinet.gov.vn

In 2011, the government strengthened cultural diplomacy along with political and economic diplomacy. Vietnamese diplomatic bureaus overseas held various activities to present Vietnam to the world, such as a celebration of the 100^th anniversary of Ho Chi Minh’s first arrival in France and the 65^th anniversary of his first visit as a state leader. Last year, Vietnam’s cultural diplomacy paid off with 12 tangible and intangible heritages recognized by UNESCO. Deputy Foreign Minister and Chair of the Vietnam National UNESCO Committee Nguyen Thanh Son said:“We are proud that cultural diplomacy has helped political diplomacy to accomplish tasks and introduced a Vietnam with a strong position in the international arena”.

In 2011, cultural diplomacy was, for the first time, included in the documents of the 11^th National Party Congress and then the Prime Minister approved the Cultural Diplomacy Strategy until 2020. Various activities were held under the theme of building a shared awareness about cultural integration; and combining cultural diplomacy with political and economic diplomacy. The country is set to participate in multilateral cultural mechanisms, and utilize UNESCO programs and initiatives for national socio-economic development to elevate Vietnam’s role and position. “Vietnam needs to integrate more into the world. Economically, integration aims to strengthen the national economy and ensure social stability and security. During the globalization process, Vietnam is pursuing a policy to befriend all countries while preserving national identity, and sticking firmly to HCM’s Thoughts and socialist orientation”, said Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Thanh Son.

According to Mr. Son, this year, the Foreign Ministry will continue to ensure that cultural diplomacy accompanies overseas Vietnamese affairs. Last year, overseas Vietnamese in many countries had an opportunity to study their mother language and join in regular cultural exchanges. “The major task of this year is to mobilize the strength of associations. We will try to bring more overseas Vietnamese back to Vietnam, and communicate the latest developments in Vietnam to people living overseas. We hope that the Vietnamese community abroad will contribute more to Vietnam’s development”, he said.

ANH HUYEN