PM Hung urges diplomacy to move from "paving the way" to concrete results

Prime Minister Le Minh Hung delivered this directive at the Plenary Session on "Diplomacy serving national development in the new era - Breakthrough mindset, decisive action, substantive results," held on August 8 as part of the 33rd Diplomatic Conference.

The session focused on leveraging foreign affairs to drive economic growth, transform the national development model, and enhance national self-reliance and competitiveness.

Opening the conference, Politburo member and Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung affirmed that diplomacy for development has become a core task of the diplomatic sector, increasingly deepening and making practical contributions to socio-economic achievements while elevating Vietnam's international standing.

The Government chief highlighted that during the 2024-2025 period, Vietnam’s diplomatic missions abroad organized over 1,200 trade, investment, and tourism promotion activities, supported more than 550 local connectivity initiatives, and facilitated the signing of nearly 230 cooperation agreements with international partners.

In addition, economic, scientific-technological, and energy diplomacy, alongside efforts to accompany enterprises, have shifted strongly from mere promotion to substantive support. These efforts have actively contributed to boost market expansion, attracting resources, accessing advanced technology, ensuring economic security, and effectively responding to crisis situations.

Presentations from ministries, sectors, localities, heads of overseas diplomatic missions, and the business community outlined solutions to leverage cooperation potential with key partners, open up export markets, boost tech diplomacy, attract high-quality investment, and raise the standing of Vietnamese agricultural products in global value chains.

Delegates also discussed implementing the "Go Global" program and strengthening coordination between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, overseas missions, localities, and businesses.

Participants agreed to continually innovate implementation methods by centering services around businesses, localities, and citizens, fully maximizing the network of 99 overseas diplomatic missions to expand development space for the country.

More proactive, more substantive

Addressing the session, PM Le Minh Hung hailed the foreign service's important contributions over more than 80 years of national construction and defense. He emphasized that the sector has helped shape a comprehensive framework of foreign policy guidelines, creating a solid political and legal foundation to maintain national independence and sovereignty while flexibly executing foreign policy amid global uncertainties.

The diplomatic sector has also maintained a peaceful and stable environment, establishing favorable conditions for development, while affirming foreign affairs as a vital and regular task, and enhancing Vietnam's international prestige as global partners increasingly seek to expand and deepen ties. Furthermore, foreign affairs have effectively mobilized external resources, expanded markets, and attracted investment, technology, and innovation, thereby raising productivity and supporting fast, sustainable development.

Looking ahead, the Government leader stressed that as Vietnam enters a new development period with a mission to accelerate toward its two centennial goals, the diplomatic service must strongly innovate its mindset and implementation methods, operating with greater proactiveness and substance while taking development efficiency as its ultimate benchmark.

Diplomacy must closely accompany ministries, localities, and enterprises to support double-digit growth targets and help the country overcome the middle-income trap.

PM Hung outlined key requirements for the sector, stressing that diplomacy must focus on final outputs by moving from "paving the way" to accompanying businesses and localities until concrete results are achieved.

He emphasized that the responsibility of economic diplomats does not end with signed agreements, but extends until commitments are fulfilled, projects are licensed, funds are disbursed, and facilities become operational.

At the same time, the sector needs to transform resource utilization, shifting from merely attracting external resources to fully converting them into domestic capacity by linking investment with technology transfer, workforce training, and strengthening domestic enterprises.

Beyond capital and markets, diplomacy must directly attract core technologies, strategic infrastructure, foreign Vietnamese talent, and international experts into national innovation programs. Furthermore, the PM called for proactively shaping international rules, transitioning from passive participation to actively establishing new global standards on the environment, labor, data, artificial intelligence, and supply chains to turn external pressures into new development space.

To realize these priorities, PM Hung asked the foreign service to strictly follow Central Committee, Politburo, and Government leadership; enhance Party building and internal political protection; and deploy capable personnel to key strategic posts. The sector must maintain peace and stability, refine strategic forecasting, solidify traditional markets, open up new ones,  capitalize on FTAs, and help Vietnamese firms integrate deeper into global value chains with high-value-added brands.

The sector needs to intensify science and technology diplomacy by establishing cooperation frameworks with leading tech partners, facilitating access to strategic technologies, and piloting an ambassador and special envoy for technology mechanism.

The PM urged the entire diplomatic service to embrace the Government's operational motto: "Action, action, and action; work, work, and work."

Concluding the session, Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung assured that the foreign service will swiftly turn the Prime Minister's directives into a concrete action program guided by "breakthrough mindset, decisive action, substantive results."

Domestic units and overseas missions will enhance strategic research, inter-agency coordination, and local support, playing a pioneering role in market expansion, resource attraction, digital transformation, and technological advancement to directly serve national development goals in the new era.

On this occasion, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs awarded Government Emulation Flag, Prime Minister's Certificates of Merit, and Foreign Minister's Certificates of Merit to collectives with outstanding achievements in external affairs serving national development.

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