'The first foreigner I met as a child was Vietnamese'
VietNamNet•12/02/2024
On the occasion of the New Year 2024, VietNamNet had an interview with Chairman of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations Phan Anh Son about the contributions of people-to-people diplomacy activities as well as development directions in the coming time.
In 2023, the world situation has many fluctuations. In the overall successful year of Vietnam's foreign affairs, people's diplomacy in particular and the system of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO) as a pillar and core in Vietnam's people's foreign affairs also made certain contributions. In 2023, maintaining relations with VUFO's existing partners was further strengthened. We expanded the VUFO system's partner network because currently, many friends and partners of the Vietnamese people, VUFO's partner network as well as bilateral and multilateral friendship associations are old. The world situation has changed, new requirements and tasks have been set for people's diplomacy, in addition, social movements and people's movements of countries have new trends, gathering forces very flexibly and diversely on many issues, in many aspects, different contents and forms. That requires us to have a new system of friends and partners to successfully implement the people's diplomacy goal of promoting friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and other countries. People's diplomacy also needs to consolidate and build a positive and favorable social foundation to create momentum for relations between Vietnam and other countries. This is very important to us, so in the relationship of cooperation and friendship, we have reviewed the entire system of partners in all continents and then we consolidate and expand the partnership. In 2023, VUFO has implemented many people-to-people diplomacy activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and other countries. We have implemented a series of commemorative activities with new forms, new content, new approaches and with many new participations from foreign partners. VUFO also skillfully combines cultural exchanges between Vietnam and other countries to celebrate the 50th anniversary. For example, in 2023, VUFO celebrates the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Japan (September 21, 1973 - September 21, 2023). On the occasion of the visit of the Crown Prince and Princess to Vietnam, we will organize a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. This is a very smooth combination of State diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy, integrating and conveying many values about people-to-people cooperation, culture, policies and bright spots and special points in Vietnam's foreign policy. Regarding high-level activities of Party and State leaders, when VUFO and people's organizations and unions were assigned the responsibility of carrying out foreign affairs activities on the people's channel, we have done so very successfully under the direction of Party and State leaders. On the occasion of the visit of General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping to Vietnam, VUFO coordinated with agencies to successfully organize the Meeting of Friendship Scholars and Young Generations of Vietnam and China, with the participation of more than 400 delegates from the two countries. This was an extremely special meeting because of the presence of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his wife, General Secretary and President Xi Jinping and his wife, in addition to senior leaders of the two countries. In their speeches, the two General Secretaries emphasized that people-to-people friendship is the foundation, driving force, and very important factor in promoting the traditional friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and China. Previously, on May 22, 2023, during the visit to Vietnam of the Chairman of the United Russia Party and Deputy Chairman of the National Security Council Medvedev, we organized a meeting between Mr. Medvedev and many people who had studied, worked, lived and Vietnamese people who loved the former Soviet Union and Russia today. The meeting was extremely meaningful and played a very important role in maintaining and strengthening the friendly relations between Vietnam and the Russian Federation. Speaking at that meeting, Chairman of the United Russia Party Dmitry Medvedev said something that touched everyone: "The first foreigner I met as a child was a Vietnamese person". It is known that at that time, Mr. Medvedev's father was a professor at a university. He taught foreign students, including Vietnamese students. That shows that President Medvedev had very deep impressions of the country and people of Vietnam in the past, and at the same time created the motivation and foundation to maintain his personal feelings as well as the role of the leader of the Russian Federation towards the country and people of Vietnam. Foreign NGO mobilization work also achieved impressive figures. The value of aid disbursement in 2023 reached 223.3 million USD. In 2023, many countries adjusted their foreign policies, including adjusting aid policies for developing countries, including Vietnam. In such a context, VUFO has innovated the form and approach to foreign NGO aid mobilization. VUFO has a policy of improving the quality of research and advisory work. We do not aim at strategic research, but we focus and aim at researching, monitoring, grasping, and assessing the situation in countries, regions, and around the world. One highlight is the research, assessment, and monitoring of people's movements around the world that have close relations with Vietnam. The current mobilization of forces of organizations and people's movements in the world is very flexible and diverse on many issues, both in terms of the way of mobilizing forces, and in terms of form and content of the mobilization. It is expected that by the end of 2024, we will complete the product: drawing a map of organizations and people's movements in the world to serve Vietnam's foreign affairs in general and especially in people's diplomacy. I remember the concept of "bamboo diplomacy" was first mentioned by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in 2016. Most recently, we have a book that talks in detail about the Ho Chi Minh school of foreign affairs, diplomacy imbued with Vietnamese national identity, expressing the soul, character, and spirit of the nation, of the Vietnamese people with three very important phrases, which can be said to be three keywords: firm roots, strong trunk, flexible branches. Firm roots are the goals of Vietnam's foreign policy: consistently implementing an independent, self-reliant foreign policy for peace, cooperation, and friendship. Firm roots here are national interests, which are immutable. Firm roots here are the leadership and direction of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Firm roots here can also be the spirit, will, and character of the Vietnamese people and nation, which are self-reliance, self-reliance, independence, and self-reliance. Because Ho Chi Minh's diplomatic ideology has three major highlights, as General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said. The first is national independence associated with socialism; the second is independence, self-reliance and international solidarity; the third is peaceful diplomacy, openness, making more friends and fewer enemies. Therefore, the solid root connotation, from our perspective, represents the will of self-reliance, the will of independence and self-reliance; represents the leadership and direction of the Communist Party of Vietnam. That solid root is the goal of foreign policy. That solid root is the national interest. The solid trunk here is the coordination between the three pillars of diplomacy, which are Party diplomacy, State diplomacy and people's diplomacy. The flexible branches are suitable and correspond to the motto of people's diplomacy, which is proactive, flexible, creative and effective. Proactive, flexible, creative and effective and the flexibility of people's diplomacy demonstrate the nature of people's diplomacy. The essence of people's diplomacy is international mass mobilization work, persuading and mobilizing friends, people, movements, and politicians of other countries to support our national interests, to support what we desire. The flexibility of people's diplomacy is psychological diplomacy, attacking people's hearts, transforming the situation, and mobilizing friends to support our national interests.
We think that 2023 is a special year in the overall picture of Vietnam's foreign affairs. In particular, there is a very special point that Vietnam - US upgrade to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for peace, cooperation and sustainable development. The Joint Statement on upgrading to Comprehensive Strategic Partnership has 10 major points, of which 1 item is related to people's diplomacy. People's diplomacy has kept the cooperation channel between the Vietnamese people and all social classes, the American people open. We have maintained a channel of contact, exchange, information transmission, and information updates to American friends and partners in all social classes. The people's channel has cooperation not only with American people's movements, American society but also with American non-governmental organizations, institutes, universities, research institutes, veteran organizations that participated in protesting the US war in Vietnam; with politicians, US Congressional agencies. In September 2023, VUFO signed a 5-year cooperation program for the period 2023-2028 with the US Institute of Peace under the US Congress. The purpose focuses on two main contents: coordinating the implementation of programs and projects to overcome the consequences of war in Vietnam; implementing educational programs, conveying lessons about peace, values from two countries, two different fronts to become friends, strategic partners... Overcoming the consequences of war is a necessary work that we need to do not only with the US partner but also with many international partners. The painful history of war needs to be conveyed to many countries and peoples to avoid repeating the same things that happened to the two countries more than 50 years ago. That is the biggest purpose of signing the cooperation agreement between VUFO and the US Institute of Peace.
From our perspective, these are considered people-to-people diplomacy activities. First, I would like to say that heads of state themselves, when coming to Vietnam, also wish to carry out people-to-people diplomacy activities. People-to-people diplomacy activities have a very special feature: they are both soft and flexible, gentle but have a profound impact and easily reach people's hearts. One of the people-to-people diplomacy activities that heads of state often carry out is that when they come to any country, they often choose universities, research institutes, and clubs to talk and interact with people. In essence, this is a way to convey the values of policies, culture, and goals of that country; to convey a friendly image that easily wins people's hearts.
Design: Pham LuyenPhoto: Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations
In 2023, VUFO has implemented many people-to-people diplomacy activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and other countries. We have implemented a series of commemorative activities with new forms, new content, new approaches and with many new participations from foreign partners. VUFO also skillfully combines cultural exchanges between Vietnam and other countries to celebrate the 50th anniversary. For example, in 2023, VUFO celebrates the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with Japan (September 21, 1973 - September 21, 2023). On the occasion of the visit of the Crown Prince and Princess to Vietnam, we will organize a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. This is a very smooth combination of State diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy, integrating and conveying many values about people-to-people cooperation, culture, policies and bright spots and special points in Vietnam's foreign policy. Regarding high-level activities of Party and State leaders, when VUFO and people's organizations and unions were assigned the responsibility of carrying out foreign affairs activities on the people's channel, we have done so very successfully under the direction of Party and State leaders. On the occasion of the visit of General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping to Vietnam, VUFO coordinated with agencies to successfully organize the Meeting of Friendship Scholars and Young Generations of Vietnam and China, with the participation of more than 400 delegates from the two countries. This was an extremely special meeting because of the presence of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his wife, General Secretary and President Xi Jinping and his wife, in addition to senior leaders of the two countries. In their speeches, the two General Secretaries emphasized that people-to-people friendship is the foundation, driving force, and very important factor in promoting the traditional friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and China. 
Previously, on May 22, 2023, during the visit to Vietnam of the Chairman of the United Russia Party and Deputy Chairman of the National Security Council Medvedev, we organized a meeting between Mr. Medvedev and many people who had studied, worked, lived and Vietnamese people who loved the former Soviet Union and Russia today. The meeting was extremely meaningful and played a very important role in maintaining and strengthening the friendly relations between Vietnam and the Russian Federation. Speaking at that meeting, Chairman of the United Russia Party Dmitry Medvedev said something that touched everyone: "The first foreigner I met as a child was a Vietnamese person". It is known that at that time, Mr. Medvedev's father was a professor at a university. He taught foreign students, including Vietnamese students. That shows that President Medvedev had very deep impressions of the country and people of Vietnam in the past, and at the same time created the motivation and foundation to maintain his personal feelings as well as the role of the leader of the Russian Federation towards the country and people of Vietnam. 
Foreign NGO mobilization work also achieved impressive figures. The value of aid disbursement in 2023 reached 223.3 million USD. In 2023, many countries adjusted their foreign policies, including adjusting aid policies for developing countries, including Vietnam. In such a context, VUFO has innovated the form and approach to foreign NGO aid mobilization. VUFO has a policy of improving the quality of research and advisory work. We do not aim at strategic research, but we focus and aim at researching, monitoring, grasping, and assessing the situation in countries, regions, and around the world. One highlight is the research, assessment, and monitoring of people's movements around the world that have close relations with Vietnam. The current mobilization of forces of organizations and people's movements in the world is very flexible and diverse on many issues, both in terms of the way of mobilizing forces, and in terms of form and content of the mobilization. It is expected that by the end of 2024, we will complete the product: drawing a map of organizations and people's movements in the world to serve Vietnam's foreign affairs in general and especially in people's diplomacy. 
I remember the concept of "bamboo diplomacy" was first mentioned by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong in 2016. Most recently, we have a book that talks in detail about the Ho Chi Minh school of foreign affairs, diplomacy imbued with Vietnamese national identity, expressing the soul, character, and spirit of the nation, of the Vietnamese people with three very important phrases, which can be said to be three keywords: firm roots, strong trunk, flexible branches. Firm roots are the goals of Vietnam's foreign policy: consistently implementing an independent, self-reliant foreign policy for peace, cooperation, and friendship. Firm roots here are national interests, which are immutable. Firm roots here are the leadership and direction of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Firm roots here can also be the spirit, will, and character of the Vietnamese people and nation, which are self-reliance, self-reliance, independence, and self-reliance. Because Ho Chi Minh's diplomatic ideology has three major highlights, as General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said. The first is national independence associated with socialism; the second is independence, self-reliance and international solidarity; the third is peaceful diplomacy, openness, making more friends and fewer enemies. Therefore, the solid root connotation, from our perspective, represents the will of self-reliance, the will of independence and self-reliance; represents the leadership and direction of the Communist Party of Vietnam. That solid root is the goal of foreign policy. That solid root is the national interest. The solid trunk here is the coordination between the three pillars of diplomacy, which are Party diplomacy, State diplomacy and people's diplomacy. The flexible branches are suitable and correspond to the motto of people's diplomacy, which is proactive, flexible, creative and effective. Proactive, flexible, creative and effective and the flexibility of people's diplomacy demonstrate the nature of people's diplomacy. The essence of people's diplomacy is international mass mobilization work, persuading and mobilizing friends, people, movements, and politicians of other countries to support our national interests, to support what we desire. The flexibility of people's diplomacy is psychological diplomacy, attacking people's hearts, transforming the situation, and mobilizing friends to support our national interests. 
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