On the evening of December 20, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a conference with Ambassadors and Heads of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad to review economic diplomacy work in 2024 and deploy key tasks in 2025 to create momentum for growth.
The conference was held in person and online at the Government Headquarters with 94 Vietnamese representative agencies abroad and 63 People's Committees of provinces and centrally run cities.
Attending the conference were Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son; Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Government agencies; leaders of ministries, branches, and central agencies; Chairmen of People's Committees, leaders of provinces and centrally-run cities; leaders of business associations, industries, and Vietnamese representative agencies abroad.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, economic diplomacy has actively contributed to implementing the direction of the Government and the Prime Minister on renewing traditional growth drivers and promoting new growth drivers.
In nearly 60 foreign affairs activities of key Party and State leaders in 2024, economic content has become the focus, bringing specific and substantial results. Notable are the Prime Minister's visits to India, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, Romania, Dominica; working visits to China, Russia... More than 170 cooperation agreements were signed on the occasion of high-level activities.
Vietnam's foreign relations continue to be expanded, upgraded and enhanced. Vietnam has promoted the renewal of traditional growth drivers in trade, investment, tourism and labor with major markets and key and important investment partners, especially in Northeast Asia; America, India, the Middle East; especially with China, South Korea, Japan, etc. Economic diplomacy, especially technology diplomacy, semiconductor diplomacy, innovation, etc., has been promoted with key partners and large corporations.
Among them, Apple, Intel, Google, NVIDIA, Samsung, LG, Cadence, Qorvo, Marvell, Siemens... have invested, expanded investment and cooperated with Vietnam. To date, Apple has completed the transfer of 11 factories producing audio-visual equipment to Vietnam. Intel expanded the second phase of its chip testing factory in Ho Chi Minh City. Google is expanding skills training in Vietnam to enhance cooperation on AI. NVIDIA Corporation has signed a cooperation agreement with the Vietnamese Government to establish NVIDIA's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Research and Development Center and AI Data Center in Vietnam. Following Samsung's R&D Center, LG also plans to open its third R&D Center in Vietnam...
With markets that still have much room for growth such as Latin America, the Middle East - Africa, Central Eastern Europe, Vietnam has promoted economic diplomacy with important partners such as Chile, Argentina, Peru, Hungary, Romania, UAE, Qatar... to promote new directions such as developing the Halal industry...
Vietnam has increased the total number of FTAs signed and participated in to 17; promoted the implementation of signed FTAs, actively removed market barriers, thereby contributing to recovery and export growth; focused on removing technical obstacles when implementing EVFTA, mobilizing EU members on the Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), removing the IUU yellow card for Vietnamese seafood, mobilizing the US to remove Vietnam from the D1-D3 group and soon recognize Vietnam as a market economy.
Trade with many traditional markets and potential markets in the Middle East and Latin America has grown positively, including promoting negotiations for FTAs with the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), the European Free Trade Association, the ASEAN-Canada FTA, etc.
However, economic diplomacy still has limitations such as: Not taking full and effective advantage of upgrading and upgrading relations with partners; economic cooperation with some strategic areas is not commensurate with the cooperation framework; implementation of commitments and agreements is sometimes and in some places slow; research, forecasting and consulting work in some cases is not proactive and does not keep up with developments...
At the Conference, delegates discussed and assessed the situation; analyzed causes; lessons learned and proposed breakthrough solutions, promoted trade and investment cooperation to accelerate investment attraction in Vietnam, expand import and export markets and increase trade turnover; promoted technology transfer, experience in institutional improvement, attracting human resources, management science, etc. In particular, delegates proposed the need to connect and encourage Vietnamese enterprises to invest abroad, so that Vietnamese enterprises and brands can reach out to the world.
Delegates proposed promoting economic diplomacy in high-level diplomatic activities; establishing mechanisms to accelerate the implementation of high-level commitments and agreements; creating breakthroughs in economic, trade, investment, labor relations, new growth drivers such as science and technology, innovation, green economy, digital economy, especially emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, internet of things, cloud computing, etc.
Economic diplomacy is a new, important driving force
Concluding the Conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh welcomed the positive results in economic diplomacy, which are a bright spot in foreign affairs, making an important contribution to the country's socio-economic development achievements in 2024 with 15/15 targets achieved and exceeded. Of which, growth is about 7%, FDI attraction in 11 months increased by 12.4% to 31.4 billion USD, with disbursement reaching 21.7 billion USD, the highest in many years; and import-export turnover of about 800 billion USD...
Economic diplomacy has truly become the key content in all foreign affairs activities, especially high-level foreign affairs; there has been a change in thinking and working methods towards a more positive, substantive and effective direction; effectively contributing to the implementation of strategic breakthroughs; economic diplomacy has been institutionalized and systematized in a methodical manner and has the consensus and participation of the entire political system, and the close coordination of ministries, branches and localities.
Reviewing 700 economic diplomacy, trade, investment and tourism promotion activities carried out at Vietnamese representative agencies abroad and more than 400 trade and investment promotion activities in localities at home and abroad with diverse, rich and flexible forms, the Prime Minister affirmed that economic diplomacy is increasingly more substantial and methodical, with "3 clear": clear results, clear products, clear contributions to the country's socio-economic development.
Some specific results that can be "weighed, measured, counted, and quantified" include: Attracting chip manufacturing corporations and companies to Vietnam, especially NVIDIA; expanding agricultural export markets, agricultural export turnover reaching a record high; strongly developing tourism, leading to the development of the aviation industry; large trade surplus... The trust of partners has increased; the momentum of cooperation from high-level visits has been utilized more effectively by ministries, sectors, and enterprises. Many new markets have been exploited such as the Middle East, the Halal market, and the market to South America.
Praising the relevant subjects, the Prime Minister also pointed out some limitations, especially in some places and at some times there is still a "disease" of achievements, formalities, superficialities..., while emphasizing some important lessons: Respecting opportunities, time, intelligence, flexible adaptation, and timely decisiveness are decisive factors in economic diplomacy activities; closely following domestic and foreign needs to implement economic diplomacy appropriately, effectively, comprehensively, deeply, and without formalities; having close coordination between representative agencies, enterprises, and localities, considering work as one's own; having a spirit of love for the profession, patriotism, dedication, and responsibility; towards partners, one must show sincerity, trust, and promote Vietnamese cultural identity; only when partners feel this will they share, respect, and cooperate.
According to the Prime Minister, in the coming time, the international situation will become increasingly complicated, with opportunities and challenges intertwined, of which the latter will still be prominent. Therefore, it is necessary to have high determination, make great efforts, take drastic actions, and focus on key points to create breakthroughs in economic diplomacy.
In particular, 2025 is both a year of acceleration, completing the development goals of the 2021-2025 period; actively arranging the organization, apparatus and organizing important anniversaries of the country; and well preparing to organize Party Congresses at all levels, towards the 14th National Party Congress, opening a new era, an era of national growth.
To reach the target of upper middle income for its people by 2030 and high income by 2045, Vietnam's economic growth rate must reach 8% in 2025 and reach double digits in the upcoming development period.
The Prime Minister requested that economic diplomacy should contribute more to achieving this goal; ministries, branches, localities, and agencies must all make efforts. Once determined, they must be more determined. Once they have made efforts, they must try harder. Once they are determined, they must be more determined. "The Party has directed, the Government has agreed, the National Assembly has agreed, the people have supported, and the Fatherland has expected, so we only need to discuss action, not retreat."
The Prime Minister requested that in the coming time, economic diplomacy must focus on promoting the signing of legal frameworks such as FTAs, IPAs, CEPAs, etc.; assessing the potential differences, outstanding opportunities, and competitive advantages of Vietnam and its partners to identify issues that can be cooperated, supplemented, and competed with each other; and promoting the connection of Vietnamese enterprises with enterprises of other countries.
Pointing out that economic diplomacy is a new and important driving force, the Prime Minister requested to renew traditional growth drivers such as export, investment, and consumption; promote new growth drivers such as green economy, digital economy, circular economy, knowledge economy, sharing economy, and night-time economy; focus on building brands for Vietnamese products and services; promote more substantial and effective trade and investment; develop sustainable competitive markets; diversify products, diversify markets, and diversify supply chains.
Accordingly, promoting diplomacy in all fields, continuing to promote technology diplomacy, tea diplomacy, shrimp diplomacy, etc.; especially expanding cooperation in technology, especially technology transfer such as semiconductor chips, artificial intelligence; cooperation in exploiting outer space, sea space, underground space, etc. At the same time, the Prime Minister noted the need to continue to innovate visa policies to create more favorable conditions for attracting investment and tourism.
The Prime Minister assigned specific tasks to Ambassadors and Heads of Vietnamese agencies abroad, such as: Advocating for the US to remove Vietnam from the group of technology export restrictions and soon recognize Vietnam as a market economy; promoting cooperation with China in developing border gate economy, traffic connection, especially railway connection; cooperating with Middle Eastern countries to build an International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City, removing the EC's IUU yellow card...
Pointing out that "what has been said must be done, what has been committed must be done, what has been done, what has been done must have specific results", assigning "clear goals, clear people, clear work, clear time, clear responsibilities, clear products, clear results", Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh believes that with the joint efforts, solidarity, and consensus of departments, ministries, branches, localities, associations, and enterprises, especially the proactiveness, positivity, and promoting the pioneering role of the diplomatic sector and representative agencies abroad, economic diplomacy will continue to be deployed more strongly, comprehensively, and creatively and achieve better and more breakthrough results next year than the previous year, contributing to socio-economic development, successfully implementing the goals of the 2021 - 2025 period; consolidating the foundation for the country to enter a new era, the era of national development./.
Source: https://baotainguyenmoitruong.vn/thu-tuong-tao-dot-pha-ve-ngoai-giao-kinh-te-de-gop-phan-tang-truong-2-con-so-384815.html
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