National Conference on Foreign Affairs targets towards greater integration

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh gives a speech at the the 19th National Conference on Foreign Affairs.

In his opening address, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh said the conference will discuss further coordination to successfully fulfill external works, including greater integration into the world.

“The event takes place in a mid-term pivotal year for the implementation of the resolutions adopted at the 12th National Party Congress, the policy on extensive international integration, and the Resolutions of the National Assembly and localities on five-year socio-economic development plan from 2016 to 2020. It’s imperative to carry out three strategic breakthroughs, including economic restructuring combined with boosting growth model reform, improving foreign affairs, and international integration,” he said.

Deputy PM Minh praised localities for making progress in foreign affairs over the past years.

“ The local diplomatic sector contributes a major part of our overall achievements. Local diplomacy has been done in a proactive and concentrated manner. We have expanded relations with foreign partners and export markets and promoted trade and investment as our contributions to achieving development goals of each locality and the whole nation,” Minh stressed.

The conference also highlighted the important role of foreign affairs in socio-economic development, investment attraction and international integration of localities.

In his remarks, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Nguyen Duc Chung also extolled the capital city’s efforts to promote external economic relations through meetings between senior municipal leaders and those from major multinational groups and enterprises.

Over the past years, Hanoi has stepped up its relations with cities around the world, while actively realizing bilateral and multilateral economic agreements, he added.

Chung said this year continue to see new achievements of the city’s external affairs to serve foreign investment promotion. Hanoi has participated in numerous important forums and municipal leaders have hosted 175 meetings with representatives of foreign firms to update the city’s policies to lure more investment.

The foreign-invested sector contributes about 15% of the city’s total social investment and accounts for roughly 16.5 % of its regional gross domestic products.

In order to improve the efficiency of external affairs activities, Hanoi will continue revamping its FDI attraction policies, while focusing on expanding relations with cities across the globe as well as other countries, territories and international organizations, and combining political and economic diplomacies, Chung stressed.

He said that the city is destined to bolster trade and tourism cooperation with other nations to capitalize on assistance and support from them as well as international financial-monetary institutions so as to boost market expansion and popularize its image globally.

The biennial event was organised ahead the 30th Diplomatic Conference set for August 12 – 17, drawing the participation of 500 delegates from ministries, state agencies and departments of external affairs from 63 cities and provinces across the nation along with heads of Vietnam’s diplomatic missions abroad.