From New York to Havana: Raising international status

On the evening of September 28, General Secretary and President To Lam and his wife, along with the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, arrived at Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi, successfully concluding their working trip to attend the High-Level Week of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, work in the United States, and then pay a State visit to Cuba at the invitation of First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez and his wife.

Photo caption — *General Secretary and President To Lam speaks at the High-level General Debate of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Photo: Lam Khanh/VNA*

This is the first multilateral foreign trip of General Secretary and President To Lam to directly attend the United Nations General Assembly. The working trip of General Secretary and President To Lam to the United Nations is of great significance, continuing to affirm Vietnam's contributions to the world's largest multilateral organization, while demonstrating Vietnam's proactiveness and positivity in participating in solving regional and world issues. Meanwhile, the State visit to Cuba in the capacity of General Secretary and President of Comrade To Lam is an important milestone, bringing the Vietnam - Cuba relationship to a new stage of substantial and sustainable development, for the benefit of the people of the two countries, for socialism, for peace, cooperation and development in each region and in the world. At the same time, the visit has demonstrated the respect, deep affection, and consistent support of the Party, State and People of Vietnam for Cuba's noble revolutionary cause. Ready for the era of rising up With nearly 50 bilateral and multilateral activities, the working trip of General Secretary, President To Lam and the Vietnamese high-ranking delegation to attend the Future Summit, the high-level General Debate of the 79th General Assembly and work in the United States was a great success, achieving at a high level all the set goals and tasks. Through the important speeches of the General Secretary and President, strong and clear messages were conveyed at the highest level about the foreign policy of the 13th National Party Congress, demonstrating Vietnam's aspirations in the era of national rising up, demonstrating respect and strong support for multilateralism, international law and the United Nations Charter; at the same time, sharing assessments, and working with other countries to propose important policy directions to address global challenges. Speaking at the high-level general debate of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, the General Secretary and President emphasized that peace and stability are the foundation for building a prosperous future and that countries, especially major countries, need to comply with international law and the United Nations Charter, act responsibly, abide by commitments, contribute to common work, strengthen solidarity, sincerity, trust, promote dialogue, and eliminate confrontation. On the other hand, the General Secretary and President called for the early establishment of smart global governance frameworks, emphasizing the need for a long-term vision of science and technology, especially emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, to promote progressive development, while proactively preventing and repelling dangers to peace, sustainable development and humanity. Through the speeches of the General Secretary and President at multilateral forums during the exciting September days in New York, it can be seen that Vietnam has proactively and actively participated in the common work of the United Nations for international peace and security, always persistently promoting dialogue, reducing tensions and confrontations, seeking sustainable and comprehensive solutions to conflicts, and upholding compliance with international law. Vietnam also pledged to actively and effectively contribute to common efforts to build a world of peace, equal development, for a prosperous and happy life for humanity. Along with that, General Secretary and President To Lam also had dozens of meetings with leaders of countries and international organizations, thereby affirming Vietnam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization and diversification. The partners all expressed their appreciation for Vietnam's growing position, role and voice in the international arena, and agreed to promote comprehensive cooperation in traditional areas of cooperation as well as expand to new areas of cooperation such as innovation, green technology and digital technology. Within the framework of official activities, the General Secretary and President also met and shared with experts and scholars about the major orientations in Vietnam's socio-economic development in the coming period, emphasizing the determination to focus on building, perfecting and synchronously innovating the country's development institutions; strongly developing science and technology, innovation and digital transformation to create breakthroughs in productivity, quality, efficiency and competitiveness of the economy; continuing to fundamentally, comprehensively, effectively and substantially innovate education and training, focusing on developing high-quality human resources for priority and emerging sectors and fields.

The Vietnamese leader's sharing attracted the attention of experts and scholars, and at the same time inspired Vietnamese intellectuals and overseas Vietnamese business owners about ideas for investing in technology and resources for the country. On the other hand, the working trip of General Secretary and President To Lam to the United States this time also took place on the occasion of the first anniversary of the two countries upgrading their relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and towards the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-US diplomatic relations. Most notably were the important talks between the General Secretary and President and US President Joe Biden, as well as meetings with a number of politicians in the US legislature. In addition, the Vietnamese leader also attended and spoke at the event celebrating the first anniversary of the upgraded relations, towards the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Vietnam-US diplomatic relations, in which he delivered important messages guiding the development of Vietnam and the Vietnam-US relationship.

Speaking to the press accompanying the delegation, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son pointed out: “Through activities, we continue to urge the US side to maintain its commitment to Vietnam's top priorities in implementing the new relationship framework, including market economy issues, promoting breakthroughs in new areas such as AI, semiconductors, high-quality human resource training, cyber security, overcoming the consequences of war, etc. It can be seen that the US attaches great importance to the working trip of General Secretary and President To Lam and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation, with a solemn reception, especially the solemn arrangement of the meeting between President Joe Biden and General Secretary and President To Lam. This shows that the US truly respects Vietnam's political system, respects the leadership role of the Communist Party of Vietnam and wishes to further develop the Vietnam-US Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.” Through multilateral and bilateral diplomatic activities, international friends and partners have increasingly trusted Vietnam, contributing to promoting friendly bilateral relations and promoting resources for national development. This working trip of General Secretary and President To Lam once again reaffirmed at the highest level Vietnam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralization and diversification of relations, clearly demonstrating the image of Vietnam as an active, responsible member with the capacity to shoulder the common tasks of the international community.

New milestone in Vietnam-Cuba solidarity relations After days of urgent work in the United States, on the evening of September 25, a Vietnam Airlines plane took the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation led by General Secretary and President To Lam along the US coast from north to south, across the Caribbean Sea to the heroic Island of Freedom. In the capital city of Havana, General Secretary and President To Lam had high-level talks, meetings and contacts with leaders of the Party, State and National Assembly of the Cuban People's Government; as well as participated in a number of solidarity exchange activities with close Cuban friends; visited the Mariel Development Zone, Cuba's first free trade export processing zone; laid wreaths at the Ho Chi Minh Monument and the memorial to Cuban national hero José Martí, visited and talked with the Embassy, community representatives and Vietnamese students in Cuba. The warm and friendly welcome with many exceptions from the leaders of the Cuban Party and State for General Secretary and President To Lam demonstrates the solidarity, tradition and special friendship between Vietnam and Cuba that has always been a valuable asset that the Parties, States and people of the two countries highly value and continue to develop well in all fields. The image of First Secretary and President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez coming to the hotel where the delegation was staying to have a friendly chat before going with General Secretary and President To Lam to visit the Mariel Special Development Zone, or the fact that Comrade Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez himself and many other high-ranking Cuban leaders came to the foot of the plane to see off the General Secretary, President and his wife, are the clearest evidences of the closeness, sincerity and special mutual trust between the two sides. During the talks and meetings, the leaders of the two countries expressed their determination to continue to strongly develop the traditional solidarity, special friendship and comprehensive cooperation between Vietnam and Cuba to a new level of comprehensiveness, substance, effectiveness and sustainability, in the spirit of working together, cooperating together, developing together, for the cause of developing and building socialism, for the benefit of the people of the two countries, for peace, cooperation and development in each region and the world.

The two sides also reaffirmed that the special friendship, cooperation and traditional solidarity between Vietnam and Cuba is a symbol of the times and a priceless asset of the two Parties and peoples; determined to continue to inherit and promote the everlasting legacy of President Ho Chi Minh and the historic leader of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, the pioneers in preserving and promoting the good, special, traditional friendship and cooperation that unites the two peoples of Vietnam and Cuba. In particular, General Secretary and President To Lam also paid a visit to Revolutionary Leader Raul Castro, who always has a special affection for Vietnam. In a warm, sincere atmosphere imbued with comradeship and brotherhood, General Raul Castro recalled the memories and deep impressions during his visits to Vietnam and to Vietnamese leaders of generations; expressed admiration for the heroic, resilient and indomitable Vietnamese people in the struggle to protect national independence and unify the country, believing that with that spirit and correct guidelines, the Party, State and people of Vietnam will continue to gain new achievements on the path of building socialism.

In an exchange with the delegates of the Cuban people's friendship and the young generation, as well as many generations of Cuban friends who are close to Vietnam, the General Secretary and President affirmed that Vietnam has always considered "Solidarity and support for Cuba as the conscience and responsibility of the communists and all the Vietnamese people". That is both the testament of President Ho Chi Minh and the slogan in the hearts of each generation of Vietnamese leaders and people. The friendly meeting with representatives of Cuban friends and people and the young generation of the two countries once again demonstrated the noble revolutionary ideals, the understanding and sharing between the people of the two countries, and the deep affection that has been nurtured over nearly 65 years with the ups and downs of history. The leaders of the two countries agreed to take 2025 - the year of the 65th anniversary of diplomatic relations - as the "Vietnam - Cuba Friendship Year", through which the relevant agencies of the two countries will coordinate, develop and implement practical and meaningful people-to-people exchange activities, connecting with economic, trade, investment and tourism cooperation activities to attract the participation of a wide range of people, contributing to consolidating an increasingly solid people-to-people foundation for the special friendship between Vietnam and Cuba. On this occasion, the two sides also issued the 18-point Vietnam - Cuba Joint Statement, expressing the consistent viewpoint of the Party, State and people of the two countries determined to bring the Vietnam - Cuba relationship to a new stage of substantial and sustainable development, for the benefit of the people of the two countries, for socialism, for peace, cooperation and development in each region and in the world. The visit demonstrated the respect, deep affection, and consistent support of the Party, State, and people of Vietnam for the noble revolutionary cause of Cuba. Recognizing the invaluable contributions of General Secretary and President To Lam to the development of solidarity, friendship, and loyalty between the Parties, States, and peoples of the two countries, on behalf of the leaders of the Cuban Party and State, First Secretary and President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez presented the José Martí Medal, the highest award of the Cuban Party and State, to General Secretary and President To Lam. Assessing the results of the visit, as well as the orientation to strengthen the special relationship between Vietnam and Cuba in the coming time, Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Central External Relations Commission Le Hoai Trung said: “With the results achieved, the visit is a very important milestone bringing the relationship between the two countries to a new stage, developing more substantially and sustainably. The visit also reaffirmed the significance of the special relationship and traditional friendship between the two countries, as well as the implementation of promoting cooperation in many fields with many achievements. In the coming time, it is important that the ministries, branches and localities of the two countries urgently and effectively implement the agreements reached during the visit in all fields. Towards the Vietnam - Cuba Friendship Year, the two sides need to strengthen coordination and organize practical and effective commemorative activities, thereby enhancing information and education work, especially for the younger generation, about the special relationship between Vietnam and Cuba, the historical similarities and the harmony in the souls of the two resilient peoples fighting for and defending national independence, building socialism". In a thank-you message sent to First Secretary and President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez after the visit, General Secretary and President To Lam emphasized that this visit is the inheritance and continuation of the policy of attaching top importance to the Vietnam-Cuba relationship by the Party, State, generations of Vietnamese leaders, especially the late General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. It can be affirmed that the Vietnam-Cuba friendship, brotherhood, solidarity and cooperation relationship has been built and tested in the flames of revolutionary struggle, and is an extremely valuable asset for the people of the two countries on the path of building and defending the socialist Fatherland. With that invaluable asset, Vietnam and Cuba will continue to preserve and write new pages, making the relationship of solidarity, friendship and brotherhood between the two countries increasingly deeper and stronger, and making more positive contributions to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland in each country, to peace, stability and development in each region and in the world.