14th National Party Congress affirms a strategic vision

According to VNA, on the morning of January 25 in Hanoi, General Secretary To Lam chaired a working session with ambassadors and heads of Vietnamese representative missions abroad who had returned home to attend the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

At the meeting, drawing on assessments of international public opinion, ambassadors reported that countries have highly appreciated 14th National Party Congress, regarding it as a congress marked by long-term strategic vision, breakthroughs in thinking and methods, and concrete action oriented towards clearly defined outcomes and timelines.

Addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stressed that the success of the Congress lay in its clear, coherent and memorable viewpoints and guidelines. The Party has set out a 100-year vision with breakthrough thinking and decisive action, taking the people as the foundation and the centre of development goals; ensuring stability for development and development for stability.

Personnel work demonstrated the unity and consensus of the entire Party in selecting and building a contingent of cadres with both integrity and competence, capable of shouldering responsibilities in the new period. The organisation of the Congress was methodical, rigorous, principled and effective. There has been a strong sense of optimism and confidence among the people in the Party’s and State’s decisions. International friends have shown great interest, followed the Congress closely and extended congratulations on its success, reflecting Vietnam’s growing prestige and standing.

The Prime Minister called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to continue urging the implementation of international commitments and to promptly develop proactive plans to roll out action programmes implementing the Resolution of the 14th Congress. These efforts should clearly articulate Vietnam’s diplomatic line in the new era of development, enhance strategic proactiveness in foreign affairs, and step up research, monitoring, analysis and assessment of global developments to ensure timely, accurate and forward-looking forecasts, thereby improving the quality and effectiveness of policy advice for the Party and the State.

Strategic autonomy for integration

Welcoming the ambassadors and heads of Vietnamese representative missions abroad, General Secretary To Lam highly valued their active contributions to drafting Congress documents and their proactive efforts in disseminating information about the Congress in host countries.

The General Secretary highlighted new points and major orientations in the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress recently adopted by the National Congress. Regarding foreign affairs and international integration, stemming from the objective requirements of the international and regional environment and the need to realise national development goals, the 14th National Party Congress set out major strategic viewpoints. Alongside national defence and security, “promoting foreign affairs and international integration is identified as a critical and regular task”.

The Resolution underscores the requirement for strategic autonomy and self-reliance as the foundation for deep integration without dependence, expanded international cooperation while firmly safeguarding independence, sovereignty and national interests. It affirms the objective of developing foreign affairs in the new era commensurate with the country’s historical stature, cultural depth and international standing, clearly reflecting a new mindset, determination and aspiration of the Vietnamese nation after 40 years of Renewal.

The General Secretary called on ambassadors and heads of missions to always place the highest priority on national interests, thoroughly internalise the spirit of dedication, creativity and readiness to think boldly, act decisively and pursue breakthroughs, while ensuring discipline, integrity, exemplary conduct and consistency between words and deeds, with tangible results achieved through to completion.

On that basis, he stressed the need to closely adhere to the foreign policy orientation of the 14th National Party Congress and the directives of the Politburo and the Secretariat. In recent years, the Party and State have attached increasing importance to foreign affairs and international integration, issuing major strategic documents and policies such as Resolution 59 of the Politburo and Resolution 250 of the National Assembly on specific mechanisms and policies for advancing international integration. The Politburo will also issue a resolution on implementing the foreign policy line of the 14th National Party Congress.

Accordingly, ambassadors and heads of missions are required to urgently and seriously organise study and dissemination within party committees, and to develop action programmes translating these orientations into key and breakthrough tasks tailored to each posting.

They must continue to play a pioneering role in swiftly and accurately grasping and forecasting developments, not only global trends but also country-specific situations, with in-depth understanding of factors shaping policy implementation by host countries. They should proactively advise on identifying and addressing challenges at an early stage and from afar, while seizing opportunities and avoiding missed chances to promote substantive cooperation.

The General Secretary emphasised that priority must be given to effective economic diplomacy as well as science and technology diplomacy. Representative missions are expected to be more proactive in serving as connectors, expanding markets, promoting technology transfer, cooperation in innovation and digital transformation, and directly contributing to the implementation of 11 strategic technologies and major projects with strong socio-economic spillover effects. People and businesses are identified as both the central actors and beneficiaries, and the effectiveness of foreign activities must be measured by the satisfaction of citizens and enterprises.

Based on Vietnam’s new position and capabilities, representative missions must project the image of a new Vietnam ready to make proactive and responsible contributions to the international community. This is a new and highly significant point of the 14th National Party Congress: Vietnam is not only a recipient but also a contributor, prepared to take the lead in various areas and participate in addressing global challenges such as sustainable development, non-traditional security, peacekeeping, search and rescue, and international humanitarian assistance. Multilateralism and international law must be upheld, affirming Vietnam’s role as a constructive and responsible stakeholder.

Ambassadors and heads of missions were also urged to continue spreading Vietnam’s soft power, promoting the country and its people globally, strengthening community work, especially uniting overseas Vietnamese communities and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of Vietnamese citizens and businesses abroad. They should demonstrate the Party’s and State’s consistent care for overseas Vietnamese, support their integration in host societies, and mobilise and harness community resources, particularly those of intellectuals, experts and scientists.