Signing of regulations on coordination in people-to-people diplomacy.

Overview of the conference. Photo: TG

Attending and presiding over the conference were: Ms. Vo Thi Minh Sinh - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the province; Mr. Tran Khanh Thuc - Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs; and Mr. Nguyen Hong Ky - Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial Union of Friendship Organizations.

In his opening remarks, Comrade Tran Khanh Thuc, Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs, stated that Nghe An currently has friendly people-to-people relations with 30 countries and 43 provinces and cities, making a practical contribution to consolidating, expanding, and deepening the friendly relations and mutual understanding between the people of Vietnam and other countries; enhancing the position of Nghe An province and creating a foundation for socio-economic development.

On average, about 55 foreign non-governmental organizations operate in Nghe An each year with 40 programs and projects funded by 4-5 million USD; annually, the province organizes a program to meet overseas Nghe An residents who return to visit their homeland and celebrate the Lunar New Year…

Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs Tran Khanh Thuc speaks at the ceremony. Photo: TG

However, the province's people-to-people diplomacy in recent times has faced difficulties and limitations such as: the results of mobilizing foreign non-governmental aid have been modest; the potential of overseas Vietnamese has not been fully utilized; the contributions of overseas Vietnamese to building the homeland have not been fully realized; and people-to-people exchanges and twinning activities with foreign localities have not taken place regularly. People-to-people diplomacy activities remain passive and lack a long-term, stable strategy.

Furthermore, some local Party committees and authorities have an inadequate understanding of people-to-people diplomacy, the number of specialized personnel for foreign affairs is small, propaganda efforts are inadequate, funding for tasks is difficult, and in particular, coordination between the Fatherland Front at all levels and the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Union of Friendship Organizations is sometimes not smooth or effective.

Comrade Vo Thi Minh Sinh - Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the province, delivered a speech at the ceremony. Photo: TG

At the conference, Ms. Vo Thi Minh Sinh, Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairwoman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Nghe An province, frankly assessed that, in the past, each agency and unit of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the province, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Nghe An Union of Friendship Organizations have paid attention to people-to-people diplomacy. However, coordination between the parties has not been truly close, has not fully exploited potential and strengths, and has not achieved the highest effectiveness.

Therefore, after a process of exchange, discussion, and consensus, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee, the Provincial Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Standing Committee of the Provincial Union of Friendship Organizations proceeded to sign a cooperation agreement on people-to-people diplomacy, demonstrating their core role in implementing Directive No. 04-CT/TW dated July 6, 2011, of the Central Party Secretariat; and Directive No. 02-CT/TU dated April 25, 2011, of the Standing Committee of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee "On continuing to innovate and improve the effectiveness of people-to-people diplomacy in the new situation".

Leaders of the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Provincial Union of Friendship Organizations signed a cooperation agreement in the presence of attending delegates. Photo: TG

The comrade expressed hope that this would serve as a foundation for achieving close coordination among the three pillars of people-to-people diplomacy; proposing positive solutions to contribute to making people-to-people diplomacy in Nghe An province more effective, meeting the requirements and tasks of the new period, contributing to building a strong national unity bloc, and successfully implementing the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress and the 19th Provincial Party Congress.

Delegates pose for a commemorative photo at the signing ceremony. Photo: TG

According to the signed agreement, the parties will cooperate on the following areas: advising and reporting on people-to-people diplomacy; implementing cooperation and friendly exchanges between people in the province and people in other countries to build and develop friendly relations; disseminating information and mobilizing all sectors of the population to participate in people-to-people diplomacy; mobilizing and leveraging international resources and the Vietnamese community abroad; and building and enhancing the operational capacity of the network of officials working in people-to-people diplomacy.