Virtual conference on economic diplomacy in 2023

Overview of the meeting at the Can Tho connection point

On the evening of March 9, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a conference to implement the Government's action plan to implement Directive 15 of the Secretariat on economic diplomacy in 2023. The conference was held right after the Government issued the Action Plan for the period of 2022-2026 to implement Directive No. 15-CT/TW dated August 10, 2022 of the Secretariat on economic diplomacy for the development of the country by 2030.

The conference is connected virtually to the connection points of the People's Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities, and the overseas Vietnamese representative agencies. Attending the conference at the Government headquarters were Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan, Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat, Chairman of the Committee for State Capital Management at Enterprises Nguyen Hoang Anh. There were also other leaders of ministries and agencies, leaders of provinces and cities, 94 ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions abroad, as well as representatives of business associations. In Can Tho, Chairman of the City People's Committee Tran Viet Truong led the group, together with leaders of local departments and agencies.

Previously, the Government issued Resolution No. 21/NQ-CP dated February 20, 2023 promulgating the Government's Action Plan for the period 2022-2026 to implement Directive No. 15-CT/TW dated August 10, 2022 of the Secretariat. Directive No. 15-CT/TW of the Secretariat is an important document of the Party aimed at improving the quality and effectiveness of economic diplomacy in a comprehensive and substantive manner in the new development phase of the country. It defines economic diplomacy as a fundamental and central task of Vietnam's diplomacy, an important driving force for rapid and sustainable development of the country. Besides, the Directive sets out orientations and tasks of economic diplomacy in the new, important stage of the country's development.

Implementing Directive No. 15 of the Secretariat, on the basis of closely following the Party's guidelines, the Government's Action Plan has focused on groups of tasks: raising awareness and responsibility for economic diplomacy; expanding, deepening and creating interlacing of interests in economic relations with partners; improve the quality and efficiency of international economic integration; mobilizing and attracting external resources to serve the growth drivers; building economic diplomacy for development, taking people, localities and businesses as the center; step up research, advice, and improve analysis and forecasting capacity for socio-economic management; improve the efficiency of inter-sectoral coordination and allocate resources to implement economic diplomacy.

The Prime Minister assessed that in the past time, with the spirit of urgent, proactive and drastic work, the diplomatic sector and ministries, branches and localities have promptly implemented foreign affairs tasks in general and economic diplomacy in particular, contributing to the country's rapid recovery and sustainable development, achieving quite comprehensive results in all fields.

In addition, the Prime Minister reiterated that Vietnam firmly adheres to the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, diversification and multilateralization of foreign relations; be a good friend, reliable partner, active and responsible member in the international community; for peace, stability, cooperation and development. Vietnam is determined to build an independent and self-reliant economy, and continuing to build and perfect the market economy with the socialist orientation, with a cross-cutting point of view that takes people as the center, without sacrificing progress and justice, social security to pursue economic growth alone. The Prime Minister emphasized the important role of diplomats, ambassadors, heads of representative missions and commercial counselors abroad, in implementing the Party's foreign policy, including economic diplomacy.

Presenting the report on the focus of economic diplomacy in 2023, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son affirmed that economic diplomacy in 2022 has closely followed the Government's operational focus and under the direction of the Prime Minister, to promptly shift the focus from diplomacy for epidemic prevention and control to socio-economic recovery and development.

Promoting the achieved results, Minister Bui Thanh Son outlined 6 focuses for economic diplomacy in 2023, including: continuing to promote the implementation and concretization of the Government's action plan; identifying economic cooperation as the focus of senior leadership's activities; speeding up support for export, investment, tourism, labor, science and technology; continue to actively integrate internationally; focus on strengthening research, consulting, promoting creativity and improving efficiency to create substantive changes in the implementation of economic diplomacy.

At the conference, ministers, leaders of ministries, ambassadors, heads of Vietnamese representative missions abroad, along with leaders of localities and businesses had extensive discussions, contributed many ideas, solutions to effectively implement the Government's action plan on economic diplomacy in 2023.