The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and heads of Vietnamese representative missions abroad are ready to work alongside domestic cities and provinces in comprehensively fostering external relations with other countries, said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on August 12.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh speaking at
the conference (photo: VNA)
He made the statement in his opening remarks at the 19th
National External Affairs Conference, which took place in Hanoi on August 12 under the theme
"Activeness and creativeness for effective integration and sustainable
development.”
The biennial event was organised ahead
the 30th Diplomatic Conference slated for August 12 – 17, bringing together 500
delegates from ministries, state agencies and departments of external affairs
of 63 cities and provinces nationwide alongside heads of Vietnam’s diplomatic
missions overseas.
The foreign ministry and Vietnamese
diplomatic corps in foreign countries are willing to help localities introduce
investment opportunities and promote trade abroad to expand the market. At the
same time, the localities will be assisted in verifying partners and settling
trade disputes against the backdrop of Vietnam being a member of a number
of new-generation free trade agreements, the deputy PM noted.
He added that the ministry and diplomatic
corps also aim to help the cities and provinces promote their image and
signature products and work together to protect the rights of Vietnamese
citizens, particularly fishermen, overseas.
FM Minh urged the departments of
external affairs across the country to act as a point of contact to strengthen
external relations and enhance efficiency of international integration. They
must contribute more to this work by providing advices to local governments and
timely proposing solutions to remove barriers during the implementation of
international and regional integration commitments, he stressed.
According to Director of the ministry’s
Department of Foreign Affairs of Localities Nguyen Hoang Long, the ministry and
Vietnamese representative missions abroad have signed 420 agreements between
Vietnam’s cities and provinces and foreign localities and enterprises between
2016 and 2018, an increase of 20.3%from the previous three-year period. The
agreements have intensified friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and
foreign partners and helped promote the image and potentials of the country and
its localities.
Thanks to such efforts, Vietnam’s
foreign trade in 2016 – 2017 hit US$775 billion, up 23.8% from that of 2014 –
2016, Long said. The FDI flow into the country over the last two years also
rose by 34.9% to US$60.28 billion, compared to US$44.67 billion of the
2014-2016 period.
Since the 18th National External Affairs
Conference in 2016, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has worked closely with
cities and provinces to prepare applications for Vietnamese heritages to be
recognised by UNESCO. Seven recognitions have been earned since then, bringing
the total number of UNESCO-recognised heritages in Vietnam to 38.
The ministry has channeled many efforts
into connecting Vietnamese overseas and cities and provinces nationwide to
strengthen national solidarity, attract investment and raise funds for charity.
The border localities have closely coordinated with the ministry in border
management, contributing to the security and social order alongside shared
border with China, Laos and Cambodia.
During the conference, delegates focused their
discussion on several topics, including external affair work for local economic
development, strengthening organisational structures of local foreign affair
agencies, and reward system to encourage localities in fostering external
relations.
Source: NDO
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