A Party Central Committee member hasaffirmed the value of proactive international integration to serve thecountry’s industrialisation, modernisation, construction and defence inthe new stage while speaking at the ongoing 11th National PartyCongress in Hanoi on Jan. 14.
Pham Binh Minh, who is alsoPermanent Deputy Foreign Minister, said external activities over thepast five years were synchronously carried out, harnessing the strengthof the Party’s foreign affairs, State and people-to-people diplomacy.
Internationalintegration linked foreign activities with the expansion of political,economic and cultural ties, harvesting great achievements andcontributing to maintaining peace and stability, taking advantage offavourable international conditions for national construction andunceasingly raising Vietnam’s international position.
“Wemoved international relations into a new depth, stability andsustainability by developing a comprehensive strategic partnership withChina, increasing the significance of the strategic partnership withRussia and establishing strategic partnerships with Japan, India,the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom and Spain,” he said.
Vietnam also continued to strengthen and intensify comprehensivecooperation with Laos and Cambodia, as well as improve themultifaceted relations with ASEAN member countries, he added.
Regardingrelations with other major partners like the United States and theEuropean Union (EU), Vietnam ’s external affairs saw new steps ofdevelopment.
The relations with Cuba and other traditional friendly countries were also renewed and promoted.
Vietnam was extremely proactive in international economicintegration, becoming a member the World Trade Organisation (WTO) – thelargest economic and trade organisation in the world – and accomplished anew level of participation in regional and international organisations.
Vietnam also participated in bilateral economic and tradeagreements, he said, adding these ties increased the country’sparticipation in international economic cooperation forums andframeworks.
Over the past five years, total registered ForeignDirect Investment (FDI) exceeded 150 billion USD, seven times higherthan that in the 2001-05 period. Committed Official DevelopmentAssistance (ODA) was over 31 billion USD, three times higher than theprevious period. Exports continued growing.
“We obtainedoutstanding achievements in multilateral diplomacy, fulfilling the roleas a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2008-09term with Vietnam-imprinted contributions,” he said.
Vietnam successfully played a proactive and responsible role as ASEAN Chair in 2010.
Thecountry gained historical achievements in ensuring territorialsecurity. Regarding border issues, Vietnam completed the demarcationand planting of markers along the common land borderline with China .
Withthe signing of a protocol on demarcation and planting ofborder-markers, agreements on border management regulations and bordergates and border gate management, Vietnam and China ended 35 years ofnegotiations on the issue, creating a basis for building a borderline oflong-lasting peace, friendship and stability.
“We exertedefforts to carry out projects on the upgrade of national border markerswith Laos , and closely work with Cambodia in demarcating andplanting of border markers, striving to accomplish the issues by 2012.”
Onthe East Sea, Vietnam submitted to the UN its report on the outerlimits of its continental shelf, actively implemented cooperationagreements with countries on joint anti-piracy patrols in the TonkinGulf and reached an agreement on fisheries as well as an agreement ondemarcation of the Tonkin Gulf with China . The countryaccelerated the implementation of the Declaration on the Conduct ofParties in the East Sea (DOC) and fought activities violatingsovereignty, borders and territorial waters.
“These resultsmade positive contributions to defending the country’s sovereignty,territorial security and interests,” he affirmed.
Outstandingachievements in foreign affairs over the past five years originatedfrom the soundness of an external policy of independence, self-reliance,peace, cooperation and development, advocating openness,diversification and multilateralisation of international ties, withorientations to bring relations into a deep, stable and sustainablemanner, proactive international integration for economic cooperation andexpand ties to other fields.
These achievements were resultsfrom joint efforts of the Party, State, National Assembly, ministries,agencies and localities under the leadership of the Party.
Hehighlighted the foreign affairs thinking development, saying that theyare orientations on “active and proactive international integration” andguideline on “synchronous and comprehensive implementation” of externalactivities, performing the task of maintaining a peaceful and stableenvironment, conducive to the country’s sustainable development in orderto turn Vietnam into a modern industrialised country by 2020.
To implement the external policy of the 11th National Party Congress, Minh mentioned the following proposals:
First,grasp thoroughly the guidance on international integration in aproactive and responsible manner, focusing on actively and proactivelycatching opportunity, effectively creating and taking advantages anddealing with challenges from the process of integration.
Promptlydevelop a comprehensive strategy on international integration withspecific goals and roadmaps for each stage, particularly until 2020 inthe immediate term and in the areas of economic development, defence,security and social culture.
Quickly raise the nation’s overallstrength, an essential condition for the success of internationalintegration. This requires good performance of the Party-building workand consolidation of the national unity and solidarity, including thecommunity of more than 4 million overseas Vietnamese. This task alsomeans to raise competitiveness and the resilience of the economy in faceof international upheavals, increase defence and security potential,gradually achieving international cooperation in security-defence andregional and international security mechanisms.
Secondly, carryout the guideline on “synchronous and comprehensive implementation” ofexternal affairs orientations adopted by the 11th Congress, steppingup the unified management of external activities. Improve coordinatingefficiency of external activities of the Party, State, NationalAssembly, localities and people-to-people diplomacy, as well ascoordination between branches, channels and agencies at all levelsinvolved in external affairs.
During the process, diplomacyshould work as a comprehensive sector with three pillars – politicaldiplomacy, economic diplomacy plus cultural diplomacy and overseaVietnamese-related affairs. Defence and security diplomacy needs to bedeveloped extensively and intensively.
Thirdly, along with theimplementation of new diplomatic orientations and guidelines, it isnecessary to carry out major orientations of the external policy in therenewal stage, especially the direction on “upgrading establisheddiplomatic ties to a profound, stable and sustainable plane”.
“Lookingback on the great achievements of the renewal process in general anddiplomacy in particular in recent years, we firmly trust in theintelligence and political firmness of our Party,” he said./.
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