Hanoi (VNA) – Diplomacy shouldbe centred around helping Vietnamese enterprises reach out to the world, saidPrime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc at a plenary session of the 30th Diplomatic Conferenceon August 15, which discussed the promotion of diplomacy to develop the economyin the era of intensive global integration.

Diplomacy must uphold the principle oftaking action to boost economic development. It should translate the strongrelations between Vietnam and other countries and foreign partners intoopportunities for economic cooperation and global integration, the PM added.

He expressed his appreciation of manyVietnamese ambassadors’ efforts in coordinating closely with ministries andlocal governments to promote trade and expand markets overseas with diversifiedand effective approaches.

Phuc urged all diplomats to take moreactive roles in shaping and promoting multilateral partnerships and, at thesame time, guide and foster the expansion of all-round cooperation with a focuson economy. In addition, they must provide accurate and up-to-date informationon foreign markets for the government, ministries, localities, and enterprises aswell as give advices on foreign economic diplomacy and development, he added.

He suggested that diplomats double effortsto search for external resources, promote trade overseas, develop the labourmarket, call for ODA, and attract more remittance and visitors to Vietnam, allof which will aid the country in striving towards a digital and smart economy.

“Vietnamese embassies should not only servethe Government and the prime minister, but also localities and both private andState-owned enterprises for the ultimate key goal of developing the national economy,”the PM stressed.

The government leader also emphasised theimportance of information for foreign service, citing 4,000 foreign reporterscovering events in Vietnam in 2017.

“This is an important channel to promotethe potential, country and people of Vietnam to the world,” he noted.

At the event, Prime Minister Nguyen XuanPhuc spoke highly of the contribution of diplomacy to the country’sachievements.

Resources brought by both internal andexternal diplomacy have been attributed to the country’s economic restructuringand strong economic growth over recent years, he noted, referring to the factthat Vietnam is the only ASEAN member state to have set up strategic andcomprehensive partnerships with five permanent members of the UN SecurityCouncil, the entire G7, as well as 13 of the G20 countries.

Over the last two years, Vietnam has takengreat advantage of ambassadors and delegations’ missions abroad to organisehundreds of trade and investment promotion events, particularly the promotionof the country’s key agricultural products.

Speaking at the conference, Chairman and GeneralDirector of the military-run telecom group Viettel Le Dang Dung voiced his hopesto continue receiving enthusiastic support from Vietnamese diplomatic corpsoverseas. He asked diplomats to put more effort into bridging domestic andforeign businesses, strengthening legal support for Vietnamese enterprisesabroad, and facilitating them to seek overseas trade and investment opportunities.

The diplomaticconference, which was initiated in 1957, convenes every two years to provide avenue for the diplomatic sector to reach a consensus on awareness, resolve, andaction to effectively implement the Party and State’s foreign policy. 

The event’s30th edition opened in Hanoi on August 13, aiming to discuss measures tomaintain the effective implementation of the 12th National Party Congress’resolution, which emphasised the tasks of protecting national independence,sovereignty, unification, and territorial integrity; maintaining peace andstability to serve national development; expanding diplomatic relations;effectively implementing international integration; and continuing to raise thecountry’s position and prestige on the international stage. –VNA