Promoting cultural diplomacy: 'Soft power' grows and spreads

The President of the Philippines enjoyed the taste of Vietnamese Tet at Thang Long Imperial Citadel, the President of Germany visited the Temple of Literature and drank coffee in an alley in Hanoi. These are the two latest events in a series of cultural diplomacy activities that have created a special mark for Vietnam in the Year of the Cat.

In an interview with Tuoi Tre on the occasion of the New Year of the Dragon, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc, Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, said that the cultural diplomacy activities of senior leaders of the Party and State in the past year have left a deep impression on the Vietnamese people and those of other countries.

* During President Vo Van Thuong's visit to Austria, Italy, and the Vatican in July 2023, there was a special cultural diplomacy activity: violinist Bui Cong Duy, conductor Tran Nhat Minh, and many Vietnamese artists performed a concert combining Western classical music and Vietnamese music. How does the Deputy Minister evaluate the effectiveness of this cultural diplomacy activity?

- Cultural diplomacy is always a two-way interactive process. In foreign affairs activities, integrating musical performances into the visits of national leaders is not new. However, the new and extremely interesting point is that during the recent visit, our artists combined Western classical music and Vietnamese traditional music, thereby creating a musical "feast" that helps connect and blend the two cultures.

Vietnamese artists participated in a concert at the Italian Presidential Palace on the evening of July 26, 2023 - Photo: Artist provided

Our talented artists skillfully borrowed your "musical language" to tell the story of Vietnamese culture, from which the message was received naturally and emotionally. The performance deepened the good impression of Vietnam in the hearts of the Austrian people. The program was loved and had to be extended by 40 minutes in response to the enthusiastic response from the Austrian audience. The public's response is the clearest evidence that our music industry has been deeply integrating internationally, absorbing the quintessence of humanity, enriching the treasure of national music.

It can be affirmed that this cultural diplomacy activity was cleverly chosen, very suitable to the cultural characteristics of the partner country, leaving a deep impression, becoming a beautiful cultural and artistic highlight in the overall successful picture of the working trip. Such cultural activities need to be continued to be promoted.

From left to right, top to bottom: At noon on January 23, shortly after arriving in Hanoi, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife visited the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam, a symbol of the thousand-year-old capital Hanoi. President Vo Van Thuong and Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (center) took a photo with Tay ethnic people in the traditional Tet atmosphere of the three regions, photo taken in January 2024. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte cycled around Hanoi. In simple clothes, the two prime ministers strolled through some streets of the capital such as Phan Dinh Phung, Nguyen Tri Phuong, Dien Bien Phu on November 2, 2023. On the occasion of the official visit of Prime Minister of the Lao People's Democratic Republic Sonexay Siphandone to Vietnam, on the afternoon of January 7, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his wife, together with Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone and his wife, visited Ngoc Son Temple and strolled around Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi. Photo: NGUYEN KHANH

* Vietnam also cleverly promotes the country's culture through activities welcoming foreign leaders, creating a spread such as: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte enjoying tea and admiring lotus flowers, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier drinking coffee in an alley in Hanoi, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr enjoying the taste of Vietnamese Tet at Thang Long Imperial Citadel... Where do these ideas come from?

- Culture is the shortest path from heart to heart, an effective bridge connecting with other nations through sharing the beauty, values ​​and traditions of the Vietnamese people with international friends. Every idea, every cultural diplomacy event organized comes from the love for the homeland, the country and pride in Vietnamese culture, with the desire to show an image of Vietnam as friendly, peaceful, and cooperative with countries around the world, as well as the desire to share its cultural values ​​and learn and respect the cultural values ​​of other countries.

Foreign affairs activities of high-ranking Vietnamese leaders are not only political and economic meetings, but also occasions to demonstrate the hospitality and friendliness of the Vietnamese people.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong invited General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping to a tea party after the talks on December 12, 2023 - Photo: VNA

Images of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong enjoying tea and talking with General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping; President Vo Van Thuong and the President of South Korea walking by the lake; Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presenting the calligraphy "Sincerity, Affection, Trust" to the Prime Minister of Japan; National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue presenting books to the President of the Cuban National Assembly... have left a deep impression on the hearts of the Vietnamese people and those of other countries.

Organizing cultural diplomacy events and experiences close to local culture demonstrates the connection and understanding between Vietnam and other countries in many aspects. First of all, it is Vietnam's interest and respect for other cultures, as well as pride and confidence in Vietnamese cultural identity. Second, it is the discovery and exploitation of similarities and cultural diversity between countries, contributing to strengthening and tightening friendship between peoples. Third, it sends a message about Vietnam's development and integration, as well as the desire to cooperate with other countries in building a world of peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko enjoy Vietnamese coffee in December 2023 - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH

* Where do you position Vietnam's cultural diplomacy at present?

- In the context of deep and comprehensive integration, the international community's understanding of Vietnam's country, culture, people and progressive policies and guidelines is extremely important, contributing to enhancing the country's position, image and overall strength. Therefore, the Cultural Diplomacy Strategy to 2030 has identified cultural diplomacy as an important pillar of foreign affairs to carry out the task of promoting the image of Vietnam's country, people and culture to the international community.

President Vo Van Thuong and President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev make pottery together at Chu Dau pottery village (Hai Duong province). President Tokayev visits Vietnam from August 20 to 22, 2023 at the invitation of President Vo Van Thuong. This is his first visit to Vietnam in his new position, and also the first visit to Vietnam by a Kazakh president in 12 years - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH

In recent times, cultural diplomacy has been implemented systematically, widely, with a large force, diverse components and rich content. The most prominent point is cultural diplomacy at high levels, especially chaired and implemented by the four highest leaders of the Party, State, Government and National Assembly. These activities have created breakthroughs and increased political trust between us and our partners.

Cultural diplomacy is truly a sharp psychological weapon, contributing to the accomplishment of foreign policy goals, while making partners admire the spirit and character of our nation. From there, partners respect us, share and support the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization and diversification of our Party and State.

* Cultural diplomacy is considered an effective tool of a nation's "soft power". What specific benefits does it help Vietnam achieve for the country and its people, sir?

- If "soft power" is a tree, then cultural diplomacy is the root because it transforms the strength of our nation's 4,000-year-old civilization into the soft power of today's nation. At the same time, cultural diplomacy is also the crystallized flowers and the fragrance that brings Vietnamese cultural values ​​to the international community.

The Vietnamese delegation at the 24th session of the World Heritage Convention General Assembly, the session with voting results on November 22, 2023 showed that Vietnam was elected for the second time to the World Heritage Committee for the 2023-2027 term - Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

In 2023, cultural diplomacy contributed to increasing the country's soft power, enhancing the image and brand of Vietnam in the international arena when UNESCO recognized Cat Ba as a World Heritage Site, put Hoi An and Da Lat into the System of Creative Cities and honored the famous physician Hai Thuong Lan Ong. Vietnam's position and influence were enhanced when Vietnam assumed the responsibility of Vice President of the UNESCO General Assembly and was elected as a member of the World Heritage Committee, a member of 5/5 important mechanisms of UNESCO. Vietnam has been among the countries playing a key role in deciding on UNESCO issues as well as submitting dossiers for recognition, as well as preserving and promoting the value of world heritages in UNESCO member countries.

Although Vietnam is a developing country, its brand ranks 32nd out of 193 countries. Last November, Japan opened e-visas for Vietnamese tourists, and South Korea relaxed requirements for granting work visas to 16 countries, including Vietnam.

At noon on June 3, 2023, the plane carrying Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian delegation landed at Noi Bai Airport (Hanoi), starting an official visit to Vietnam from June 3 to 4 at the invitation of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Upon arriving in Vietnam, the Australian Prime Minister went to a Hanoi beer shop and had lunch - Photo: NGUYEN KHANH

For the locality and the people in the country, 60 UNESCO honorary titles not only increase the pride of the people but also the prestige and image of the locality. Ninh Binh, by promoting heritage values, of which Trang An World Heritage is the core, has effectively implemented economic restructuring. Currently, only 10% of the province's workforce is in agriculture, 45% in industrial parks and 45% in tourism. Agriculture also focuses on clean, unique, endemic and specialty products serving tourism. Tourism revenue in 2023 will jump, double the revenue in 2019.

Thus, the achievements of cultural diplomacy over the past years, especially in 2023, have not only contributed to making Vietnam's "soft power" tree grow stronger and spread wider, but also spread those results to localities and deeply penetrate the lives of many people across the country.

* Thank you, Deputy Minister!

CONTENT: QUYNH TRUNG - THANH HIEN

PHOTO: NGUYEN KHANH

DESIGN: SONG UYEN

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