Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh and the special female ambassador

If Mr. Nguyen Co Thach is considered the "architect" of the "break-out" diplomacy period, Mr. Pham Binh Minh (Mr. Thach's son) is considered the symbol of Vietnamese diplomacy in the integration period.

Father "rescues" - son "integrates"

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh and US Secretary of State John Kerry

It can be said that the period when Mr. Nguyen Co Thach was Minister was one of the most difficult periods in the history of our country's diplomacy in modern times. As Minister, Mr. Thach was also the diplomat who suffered the most pressure in Vietnam. During that period, Vietnam had to face the war on the southern border, fight China in the war on the northern border, the US embargo and was isolated by most countries in the world.

That was also the period when the deadlock in the relationship between Vietnam and China reached its peak. As a member of the Politburo in charge of foreign affairs, and concurrently holding the position of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, all diplomatic decisions and all burdens in the field of foreign affairs were his responsibility.

The proactive, strong, and intensive campaigns of Vietnamese diplomacy under his leadership contributed significantly to the final resolution of the Cambodian issue (1991), the normalization of relations with China (1991), the improvement of relations with Southeast Asian countries and the accession to ASEAN (1995), the lifting of the US embargo (1994) and the establishment of diplomatic relations with Vietnam (1995).

US Ambassador to the UN Sullivan once said: “I always think that the new era in US-Vietnam relations is a monument to Mr. Thach’s contributions.” Diplomat Phan Doan Nam wrote: “During his 11 years as Minister, he was the one who initiated and laid the foundation for extremely important diplomatic results. That is also one of the reasons why he is considered the “Minister of Relief” of Vietnamese diplomacy.”

Unlike his father, Pham Binh Minh did not experience a period of “closed-door” diplomacy, but he became the head of the diplomatic sector at a time when Vietnam was strongly expanding into the “big sea”. It can be said that Vietnam’s diplomacy and international cooperation have never achieved such great achievements.

The framework of strategic and comprehensive partnerships has created many opportunities for enhancing cooperation for development. Vietnam has effectively implemented relations with strategic and comprehensive partners to develop internal strength to form Vietnam's key economic sectors. This success is due to the important contribution of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh.

The Ambassador in Mr. Minh's life

There is another interesting coincidence that in the success of Vietnam's diplomacy in general and Mr. Pham Binh Minh's career in particular, there is always the shadow of a female diplomat - Ms. Nguyen Nguyet Nga - his wife.

She studied at the same school as Mr. Pham Binh Minh, also worked in diplomacy for more than 30 years, was the first female Director of the Department of Economics (Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was awarded the title of Ambassador by the President, was a senior official of Vietnam at the Asia-Europe Cooperation Forum (ASEM), Deputy Head of the Government Negotiation Delegation on Economics and Trade, and was the Ambassador of the Vietnamese Embassy in the United States.

Ms. Nguyen Nguyet Nga - Wife of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh

Her work and that of her colleagues in the Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation are pioneers in policy integration, bringing ASEAN, ASEM, APEC, WTO, TPP and a series of free trade agreements (FTAs) to Vietnam.

According to Ms. Nga, she was also greatly influenced by Mr. Nguyen Co Thach. She said about her boss, who was also her father-in-law: “He is a person with a close and practical working style, and has a lot of influence on the next generation of diplomats. I learned a lot from him. He often advised us: “Honesty and sincerity are the decisive factors in creating the reputation of a diplomat.”

Although her work is extremely busy, whenever she is at home, Ms. Nga takes care of her family herself. She said she likes to cook, and there is no maid in her house. “Between family and work, I take care of family matters first. Family is the source of joy for me to do my job well,” Ms. Nga once said.

According to Viettimes