With a burning desire to integrate Vietnam deeply with the world, former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan made many important contributions to the process of opening up the country.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan passed away at 7:05 a.m. on June 21 at the 108 Central Military Hospital in Hanoi at the age of 86. During his lifetime, he often said, "Vietnam must go out to sea. To go out to sea, we must be strong, understand international rules, know ourselves and know others."
Economist Pham Chi Lan emotionally recounted the story of late 2001, when she and the Vietnamese delegation went to the US to sign documents to complete the Vietnam-US Free Trade Agreement (BTA). She recalled that at a reception in Washington, Minister of Trade Vu Khoan was invited to speak.
He stepped forward, smiled brightly and wittily said: "Last night I had a dream. I dreamed that my American friends here today would wear shirts made in Vietnam, eat shrimp exported from Vietnam, drink delicious coffee and tea from Vietnam". The whole audience was surprised, delighted and then applauded. The American friends happily replied that "that dream will certainly come true soon".
Promoting Vietnam's international integration
After 1975, Vietnam emerged from two wars with mounting difficulties and economic blockade and embargo. At that time, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) played the role of a bridge to establish the first relationships for Vietnam to open up to the world market.
"The relationships in the early days of opening up all had the mark of former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan, who was then working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," Ms. Pham Chi Lan recalled.
Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan. Photo: VGP
In 1976, the first Americans approached VCCI to learn about Vietnam’s post-war economy and its potential for trade development. In 1982, Samsung Group began to explore entering Vietnam. When asked for his opinion, Mr. Vu Khoan immediately supported it. Many large Korean corporations then appeared and invested in Vietnam.
As Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Vu Khoan was also the one who prepared the procedures for Vietnam to join ASEAN in 1995, marking an important milestone in the country's regional and world integration process.
According to Ms. Pham Chi Lan, Mr. Vu Khoan always promoted the view of taking economic benefits as a common point between the parties to put aside the past and cooperate with each other. "Mr. Khoan clearly saw the potential economic benefits when cooperating with each country, not just using the trade route as a secondary channel to establish diplomatic relations. He has demonstrated economic benefits to convince even those who do not agree with Vietnam and its partners," Ms. Lan said.
In 2000, when he became Minister of Trade, the first important task assigned to Mr. Vu Khoan was to complete negotiations to sign the BTA. The BTA signed that year was an important milestone in Vietnam's international integration process, opening the door for Vietnamese goods to be exported to the world's largest market.
"The BTA is based on the principles of the World Trade Organization (WTO), so it helps Vietnam speed up negotiations to join the WTO," said Ms. Lan, considering this a great contribution of Mr. Vu Khoan.
Minister of Trade Vu Khoan (right cover) and US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky signed the Vietnam - US Trade Agreement in Washington DC on July 13, 2000. Photo: VNA
Vietnam applied to join the WTO in 1995 and began a difficult 11-year preparation and negotiation process. Since becoming Minister of Trade and Deputy Prime Minister in 2002, Mr. Vu Khoan considered joining the WTO a key task. However, by the end of 2005, Vietnam had still not been admitted to the WTO, causing many people to worry, even believing that the negotiation strategy was wrong.
In the hallway of the National Assembly at that time, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan said that Vietnam tried its best but not at all costs to join the WTO. Vietnam could not accept things that could not be done or things that could potentially destroy the economy, only commitments that could be implemented. "Negotiating with one country is tiring, with 28 countries it is even more difficult. When I wanted to negotiate, this person was busy, that person said I didn't have time," he said.
In 2006, after many tireless efforts to complete a huge amount of work, Vietnam completed negotiations to join the WTO. Ambassador Vu Ho, son of Mr. Vu Khoan, assessed that the WTO is a great gateway for Vietnam to integrate with the world.
Not only promoting international cooperation, Mr. Vu Khoan also made efforts to amend the domestic legal system on economics and trade according to WTO standards. If in the previous period, the National Assembly only passed 5-6 draft laws each year, then in 2002-2005, the National Assembly passed or amended 20-25 laws each year.
"Mr. Vu Khoan's contribution is not only an effort to bring Vietnam into the WTO but also helps Vietnam build a new institution compatible with the market economy," said Ms. Pham Chi Lan.
Excellent diplomat
Born in 1937 in the old Ha Tay (now Hanoi), Mr. Vu Khoan's life was associated with the spirit of self-study to become an excellent diplomat. In 1954, before finishing 7th grade, he was sent to the Soviet Union to study Russian. After 9 months of studying, he was assigned to the Embassy as an interpreter.
In 1964, while studying at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), he was transferred back to work in Vietnam before graduating. His diplomatic career began in the translation office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, translating for leaders of the ministry, departments, and serving delegations.
Mr. Khoan once admitted that if he counted the time he spent at the Ministry of Trade doing economic diplomacy, he would have been a diplomat his entire life. "I grew up because I was assigned difficult and demanding tasks," he once wrote.
According to former Vietnamese Ambassador to the Middle East Nguyen Quang Khai, Mr. Vu Khoan is a diplomat who has made many contributions in research, theory and practice. Vietnam's major negotiations such as the Paris Agreement, joining ASEAN, WTO, BTA... all bear Mr. Khoan's mark. "These were very difficult negotiations in which Mr. Vu Khoan, with his open-mindedness, contributed to successfully handling complex issues, contributing to Vietnam's deep integration into the international community," Mr. Khai acknowledged.
The former ambassador recounted that in May, before being hospitalized for treatment, former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan called him to ask about the situation in the Middle East to complete an article. "Until his last days, he was still passionate about current events and international issues."
Ambassador Vu Ho said that the diplomatic profession is unique and challenging, but his father - former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan - found harmony between the levels of national, regional and international relations. "I think this is his great contribution, especially in the complex international context, full of conflicting interests. He has a broad foreign policy vision and always sets the highest goal of bringing benefits to the country," Ambassador Vu Ho said about his father.
Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Vu Khoan (far right) and Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet (left) during a visit to Australia in May 1993. Photo courtesy
During his lifetime, Mr. Vu Khoan always persevered in creating a culture of dialogue and cooperation, building trust between parties to resolve disagreements and conflicts. His diplomatic talent not only left its mark in major negotiations but also demonstrated through his frank yet humorous style at press conferences.
In the book A Few Diplomatic Tricks , he recounted that at a meeting with many foreign guests, a reporter asked why Vietnam kept nurturing loss-making businesses. Mr. Khoan replied that "we are closely following how the Enron Electric Corporation in the US will be handled to learn from experience" (at that time, a scandal related to the losses of this giant state-owned enterprise in the US was breaking out).
Another time, a reporter asked him how he evaluated the work of foreign reporters in Vietnam. He said, "In life, there are two types of people who either praise or remain silent: wives and reporters. I usually choose the second option."
Once, when a foreign reporter asked provocatively about human rights and democracy in Vietnam, Mr. Khoan replied: "Every nation in the world drinks alcohol. That is a common value. But Americans often drink Gin, the British like Whiskey, the French drink wine all day long, the Japanese often sip Sake, the Russians only like Vodka, the Chinese consider Maotai the national wine, but we Vietnamese like the so-called national liquor. The issue of human rights and democracy is the same."
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