Foreign affairs achievements in 2017: New position, new spirit

Introducing an article by Politburo member, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh on foreign affairs achievements in 2017.

Member of the Politburo, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh (Photo: Lao Dong)

In 2017, although peace, cooperation and development remained the major trend, it can be said that we had to carry out foreign affairs and integration activities in the context of the international and regional situation with many rapid and complicated developments in both politics and economics.

Although the world economy is growing better, it still faces many risks and uncertainties due to financial-monetary instability, geopolitical instability and international security, populism and protectionism.

Regional and global economic and trade links continue to be maintained, but international cooperation and free trade face significant difficulties, while countries need to ensure necessary growth drivers and effectively adapt to the new demands of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

International relations in 2017 were strongly affected by policy adjustments of major countries, leading to multi-dimensional developments in regions, including Asia - Pacific. Cooperation and competition are intricately intertwined, and the gathering of forces with new forms and nuances poses many challenges for small and medium-sized countries.

ASEAN celebrates its 50th anniversary and continues to affirm its role as a successful regional organization, striving to maintain solidarity and build the Community, but also facing significant challenges to maintain its position.

In that context, contributing to the country's socio-economic achievements, foreign affairs in 2017 were deployed proactively, positively, and resolutely, raising the level both bilaterally and multilaterally, serving the major strategic goals set by the 12th National Party Congress. As a result, 2017 was considered one of the most successful years of Vietnam's foreign affairs.

The most prominent and comprehensive is that we have excellently performed the role of host of APEC Year 2017, culminating in the APEC High-Level Week in Da Nang. This event has created positive effects in many aspects, continuing to affirm APEC as the leading economic cooperation and linkage forum in the region, highlighting Vietnam's role in an event of "global" stature.

The participation of all leaders of APEC member economies and the largest number of delegates, businesses and reporters in the past 10 years; from the organization, hosting, management to the quality of the documents' content; the assurance of absolute security and safety throughout the APEC Year... has created a good impression on international friends.

Members, friends and international press highly appreciated Vietnam's APEC 2017 theme and the four priorities of the agenda and the contents of the documents. This event has brought Vietnam into the center of world attention, contributing to promoting the image, enhancing the position and prestige of Vietnam.

APEC Year 2017 is a vivid manifestation that our multilateral foreign affairs activities have been raised to a new level, strongly shifting to "proactively contributing to building and shaping common rules of the game", thereby effectively protecting and promoting Vietnam's strategic interests in security and development, while demonstrating the spirit of "a responsible member of the international community".

The success of this event has created a new awareness, a new belief, a new strength, a new spirit for international integration, arousing national pride, self-reliance and a strong desire to rise of the people of the whole country and the business community.

Over the past year, we have made great efforts to promote and deepen relations with neighboring countries, regions, major countries, and traditional friends.

In 2017, our senior leaders made 18 visits to 19 countries, attended 8 multilateral international conferences, held hundreds of bilateral meetings with leaders and heads of state around the world, and welcomed 36 heads of state and prime ministers to visit Vietnam.

In particular, during the APEC Summit Week, we have elevated and strongly promoted relations with Vietnam's major partners. On this occasion alone, we welcomed General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump to Vietnam on the same day. Along with that were visits by the President of Chile and the Prime Minister of Canada, and over 50 meetings with leaders of APEC member economies.

The content of foreign affairs activities is very substantial, promoting increasingly deep, stable and sustainable relations with partners. Through major commemorative activities in relations with Laos and Cambodia, high-level visits to Indonesia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, etc., we have strongly strengthened political trust and promoted the effectiveness of substantive cooperation with neighboring countries in the region. Relations with other key partners such as China, Russia, the US, Japan, and India have all been enhanced politically and economically. We have established comprehensive partnerships with Myanmar and Canada.

We have continued to proactively and actively integrate into the international economy, promote our role in regional and international economic linkages and cooperation, and successfully complete foreign affairs tasks to serve the country's development. Foreign affairs and integration activities have widely implemented Resolution 06 of the 12th Central Committee on effectively implementing the international economic integration process, maintaining political and social stability in the context of our country participating in new generation free trade agreements.

We and other member countries are persistent in laying the foundation for continued discussions towards a comprehensive and progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP), ensuring Vietnam's interests. We are also actively promoting negotiations with other countries on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), stepping up diplomatic activities to lobby and urge the European Union to soon officially sign, ratify and implement the Vietnam - EU Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA). Leaders of partner countries also agreed to work with Vietnam to effectively implement the Vietnam - Eurasian Economic Union and Vietnam - Korea Free Trade Agreements.

The effects of growth potential, Vietnam's determination to reform and integrate, demonstrated through diverse foreign affairs activities, and drastic measures to build a creative government, have contributed to strengthening our economic relations with partners, and our foreign economic targets have all been achieved and exceeded.

Vietnam's total import-export turnover reached 425 billion USD, the highest ever; the number of international tourists to Vietnam reached nearly 13 million (up 30% compared to last year). During the APEC Summit Week alone, 121 agreements were signed with a total value of 20 billion USD.

Up to now, we have persuaded a total of 69 countries to recognize Vietnam as a market economy. The Government, ministries, branches and Vietnamese representative agencies abroad have actively advocated to open the markets of other countries for the export of Vietnamese goods.

In 2017, foreign affairs continued to contribute to firmly protecting the country's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, ensuring political stability, security, order and social safety. Defense and security foreign affairs activities were promoted, defense and security cooperation with partner countries became increasingly effective, actively contributing to enhancing mutual understanding and trust between Vietnam and other countries.

Together with Laos, we have completed the plan to increase the density and upgrade border markers, together with Cambodia, completed 84.6% of the work volume of land border demarcation and marker planting, and together with China and Laos effectively implemented documents on border and border gate management.

Together with ASEAN countries and China, we proactively promote and unanimously approve the Framework of the Code of Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (COC) and officially launch COC negotiations. We promote negotiations and exchanges on maritime issues with countries in the region, while resolutely and persistently fighting against acts of infringement on our sovereignty over seas and islands.

We resolutely fight against attempts to distort democracy, human rights and religious issues to interfere in Vietnam's internal affairs, while promoting human rights dialogue mechanisms and frank exchanges in a constructive spirit to enhance understanding, reduce differences and promote stable relations with other countries.

In addition, over the past year, foreign affairs have been comprehensively and effectively implemented and achieved many results in many other important areas. We have taken advantage of good relations and cooperation with other countries to promote the protection of citizens and fishermen, protect the legal status of more than 5,500 citizens and bring back nearly 2,000 fishermen detained abroad.

Cultural diplomacy and foreign information continue to make efforts to enhance Vietnam's image internationally. The art of Bài Chòi in Central Vietnam has been officially listed by UNESCO on the Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, making Vietnam's heritage lists increasingly rich. Many rich and practical activities such as Spring Homeland, Vietnam Summer Camp, overseas Vietnamese visiting Truong Sa, Vietnamese youth start-up forums... have contributed to connecting the overseas Vietnamese community with the country.

It can be said that along with the achievements in building and defending the country, the success of Vietnam's diplomacy in 2017 has contributed to increasing the country's strength, making Vietnam's strategic position increasingly stable to enter 2018, the pivotal year to carry out the tasks of the 12th National Congress, in order to continue to create positive changes in the spirit of the Party's Resolutions.

Vietnam's diplomacy in 2018 and the coming years will continue to synchronously implement foreign affairs tasks, continue to promote the success of the APEC Vietnam Year and bilateral relations, bring the relations into greater depth, effectiveness and sustainability; implement multilateral foreign affairs orientations, prepare for the role of ASEAN Chair 2020 and run for non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020-2021 term; resolutely and persistently protect sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security; strongly implement Resolution 06 on improving the effectiveness of the international economic integration process.

Under the wise leadership of the Party and the close coordination of all military branches, foreign channels, the entire political system and the entire people, Vietnamese diplomacy is ready for all challenges in the coming year and will continue to serve the cause of building and defending the Fatherland, serving the Party, serving the country, serving the national and ethnic interests./.

According to VOV