Diplomats urged to boost vaccine diplomacy to help achieve ‘twin targets’
Pushing ahead with vaccine diplomacy is among the tasks Vietnam’s overseas representative bodies have been asked to perform so as to help achieve the “twin targets” in the last half of 2021.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – Pushing ahead with vaccine diplomacy is among the tasksVietnam’s overseas representative bodies have been asked to perform so as to helpachieve the “twin targets” in the last half of 2021.
TheMinistry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) held a teleconference on July 29 to discussmeasures for stepping up economic diplomacy to serve the COVID-19 combat andefforts to achieve this year’s socio-economic development targets.
Addressingthe event, which gathered all the 96 ambassadors and heads of overseasrepresentative agencies of Vietnam, Minister Bui Thanh Son said the brightestspot of economic diplomacy in the first six months was vaccine diplomacy, whichhas helped persuade partners to provide the country with over 14 million dosesof COVID-19 vaccine.
TheMoFA has made proactive moves and coordinated with relevant parties to dealwith issues emerging in Vietnam’s economic relations with other countries andto connect many foreign investors with Vietnamese localities and enterprises,he noted.
Heheld that the pandemic will not end soon but develop more complicatedly, andthat it will ease thanks to vaccination, which will create conditions for theeconomy to reopen.
Askingdiplomats to take proactive and creative action to perform their duties, Sonsaid apart from promoting vaccine diplomacy, they also need to keep a closewatch to discover new trends during and after the pandemic so as to advise theGovernment about national development strategies and orientations; furtherexpand and intensify Vietnam’s economic ties with important partners andcapitalise on free trade agreements; step up locality and business matchingactivities, adapt external economic activities to the COVID-19 pandemic; andproactively propose plans and road maps for resuming economic activities andtravel between Vietnam and other countries.
Tocarry out these tasks, the minister called on the entire diplomatic sector toexert every effort and resource for the realisation of national developmentgoals.
Fortheir part, the heads of Vietnam’s overseas representative bodies said they areaware of the their responsibility towards the homeland and the people amid theentire nation striving to obtain the “twin targets” of curbing the pandemic andrecovering and boosting socio-economic development./.
Vaccine diplomacy is one of the strategies Vietnam is pursuing to secure supply of foreign-made COVID-19 vaccines as fast and many as possible to combat the pandemic, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu told reporters in a recent interview.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh demanded ministries, sectors, and localities reinforce all forces to ramp up the COVID-19 combat while addressing an unscheduled meeting with the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 Prevention and Control on July 19.
The Vietnamese Party, State, Government and people always treasure the practical and timely support of international friends during the COVID-19 fight, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked the Minister of Health to continue to direct and support localities and businesses to access global COVID-19 vaccine supplies, according to a document issued on July 27 by the Government Office.
Since the signing of the Vietnam-Cambodia trade and economic cooperation agreement, trade and investment ties have seen remarkable growth, substantially contributing to each country's socio-economic development and facilitating collaboration in various spheres, said Ambassador Nguyen Minh Vu.
Representatives of the overseas community and students expressed their gratitude for the Party and State’s support, their delight at growing Vietnam–China ties, and their commitment to preserving the Vietnamese identities abroad.
PM Pham Minh Chinh reiterated Vietnam’s readiness to continue dispatching agricultural experts to support Senegal’s food security through increasingly effective and innovative methods.
NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man expressed confidence that the legislature will soon apply AI and digital transformation more broadly, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of its legislative, supreme supervision, and decision-making functions on critical national matters.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and President and CEO of the World Economic Forum Borge Brende discussed Vietnam’s new development vision and its experience in building an independent, self-reliant and globally-integrated economy, and navigating global instability through proactive diplomacy.
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Interim Chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), and Borge Brende, WEF President and CEO, commended Vietnam’s flexible and effective economic governance and its strong economic performance.
The two PMs agreed on measures to strengthen bilateral relations in the future, especially the prompt signing of an action plan for implementing the countries' comprehensive strategic partnership, and the launch of upgraded VSIPs to include hi-tech parks, urban areas, and commercial zones.
PM Chinh requested ERIA to maintain close coordination with Vietnamese agencies and research institutes to promote policy research and consultations, and help the country increase productivity, quality, and competitiveness of the economy, especially in digital transformation, green transition, and circular economy, to contribute to achieving the rapid, sustainable development and double-digit economic growth goals it has set out for the coming decades.
The new Quang Tri province will include 78 commune-level units and features key assets such as the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, a long coastline, historical landmarks, three international border gates, deep-water ports, a modern transport network, and two airports.
The rehearsal took place at the National Military Training Centre No. 4, the Vietnam National University - Hanoi, and the Vietnam National Village for Ethnic Culture and Tourism, involving more than 7,400 officers and soldiers.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a meeting with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa on June 25 on the sidelines of the 16th Annual Meeting of the New Champions of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Tianjin city, China, during which he affirmed Vietnam attaches great importance to its multifaceted cooperation with Ecuador and proposes continued dialogue, negotiation, and signing of cooperation agreements in trade, investment, finance, and agriculture.
A working visit to Toulouse by Vietnamese Ambassador to France Dinh Toan Thang from June 23–25 has laid important groundwork for expanding multi-sector cooperation between Vietnam and the Occitanie region.
Prof. Dr. Georgy Toloraia, Executive Director of the National Committee for BRICS Research and Director of the Centre for Russian Strategy in Asia at the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, expressed his confidence that Vietnam will become a substantial and influential partner of BRICS.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh proposed enhancing economic and trade cooperation, including the development of railway connectivity between Vietnam and Kyrgyzstan, which will also strengthen links with Central Asian nations.
The new law abolishes the death penalty for eight criminal offenses: the crime aimed at overthrowing the people’s government; the crime of sabotaging state infrastructure and technical facilities; the crime of producing and trading counterfeit medicines for treatment and prevention; the crime of destroying peace and causing aggressive war; the crime of espionage; that of illegally transporting narcotics; embezzlement; and bribe taking.
Vietnam will continue to coordinate closely with and make positive contributions to the initiatives and collective work of the Group of 77 (G77) developing nations, said Ambassador Do Hung Viet, head of the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the UN.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son (Photo: VNA) 
