August 19, 2024 - General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President of China Xi Jinping (R) welcomes Vietnamese General Secretary and President To Lam 

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, economic diplomacy has actively helped realize the directions of the Government and the Prime Minister on renewing traditional growth drivers and promoting new growth drivers.

In 2024, nearly 60 foreign affairs activities led by senior Party and State leaders prioritized economic matters, yielding tangible and substantive outcomes. Highlights included the Prime Minister’s visits to India, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, Romania, the Dominican Republic, China, and Russia. Over 170 cooperation agreements were signed during these high-level diplomatic engagements.

Vietnam's foreign relations continued to be expanded, upgraded and elevated. The country promoted the renewal of traditional growth drivers in trade, investment, tourism and labor with major markets and key investment partners, especially in Northeast Asia, America, India, the Middle East, China, South Korea and Japan. Economic diplomacy, especially technology diplomacy, semiconductor diplomacy and innovation diplomacy, was boosted with key partners and giant corporations.

Particularly, leading global corporations such as Apple, Intel, Google, NVIDIA, Samsung, LG, Cadence, Qorvo, Marvell, and Siemens have significantly invested in and expanded their partnerships with Vietnam. To date, Apple has completed transferring 11 audiovisual equipment manufacturing factories to Vietnam. Intel has expanded the second phase of its chip testing facility in Ho Chi Minh City. Google is expanding skills training in Vietnam to enhance AI cooperation. NVIDIA signed a cooperation agreement with the Vietnamese government to establish its Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Center and AI Data Center in Vietnam. Following Samsung's R&D Center, LG also planned to open its third R&D center in Vietnam.

Vietnamese President Luong Cuong at the 31st APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru, November 2024

Regarding markets with much room for growth such as Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and Central Eastern Europe, Vietnam has fostered economic diplomacy with important partners such as Chile, Argentina, Peru, Hungary, Romania, the UAE and Qatar to promote new directions like developing the Halal industry.

With 17 FTAs signed, Vietnam has aggressively implemented these agreements while proactively addressing market barriers to accelerate economic recovery and drive export growth. The country has focused on removing technical obstacles in implementing EVFTA, pushing EU members on the adoption of the Vietnam-EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and the removal of the IUU yellow card against Vietnamese seafood, and mobilizing the US to lift Vietnam out of the D1-D3 group and soon recognize Vietnam as a market economy.

Trade with established and emerging markets in the Middle East and Latin America has experienced significant growth. Vietnam has actively advanced Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the ASEAN-Canada FTA.

However, economic diplomacy has still posed certain shortcomings: Not taking full advantage of relations elevation with partners, incommensurate economic cooperation with some strategic areas in comparison with the cooperation framework, slowing implementation of commitments and agreements in some places, slow and passive research, forecast and consultation on development movements in some cases.

During the meeting, delegates reviewed and evaluated the current landscape, examined underlying causes, drew key lessons, and proposed innovative solutions to enhance trade and investment cooperation. Their focus was on attracting greater investment inflows to Vietnam, expanding import and export markets, and boosting trade turnover. They also discussed how to foster technology transfer, acquire experience in institutional improvement, attract human resources and adopt management science. In particular, they proposed the need to connect and encourage Vietnamese companies to invest abroad to bring their products and brands to the outside world.

Delegates proposed upholding economic diplomacy in high-level diplomatic events; establishing mechanisms to accelerate the implementation of high-level commitments and agreements; and making breakthroughs in economic, trade, investment and labor relations as well as new growth drivers like science and technology, innovation, green economy, digital economy, and especially emerging industries like artificial intelligence, semiconductors, internet of things and cloud computing.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Heads of delegations at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit, Melbourne, Australia, March 2024

Economic diplomacy - a new important driving force

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh commended the success of economic diplomacy, highlighting it as a bright spot in foreign affairs and a vital contributor to Vietnam's socioeconomic development in 2024. All 15 targets were met or surpassed, including about 7% GDP growth, an 11-month FDI increase of 12.4% to US$31.4 billion, record-high FDI disbursement of US$21.7 billion, and a total import-export trade value of around US$800 billion.

Economic diplomacy has truly become a key content in all foreign affairs, especially high-level events. There has been a change in thinking and working methods toward a more positive, substantive and effective direction, which has effectively contributed to the implementation of strategic breakthroughs. Economic diplomacy has been institutionalized and systematized and it has reached the consensus and engaged the participation of the entire political system as well as the close coordination of central and local levels.

Reviewing 700 economic diplomacy, trade, investment and tourism promotion activities launched by Vietnamese representative agencies abroad and more than 400 trade and investment promotion activities in domestic and foreign localities with diverse, rich and flexible forms, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stated that economic diplomacy has been increasingly substantial and methodical, characterized by clear results, clear products and clear contributions to the country's socioeconomic development.

Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hanoi, June 2024

Some measurable and quantitative specific results include attracting chip manufacturers to Vietnam, especially NVIDIA; expanding agricultural export markets and obtaining all-time high agricultural export value; boosting strong tourism development, followed by aviation development; and expanding big trade surplus. Partners’ trust has been enhanced and high-level cooperation momentum has been unleashed more effectively by central agencies and businesses. Many new markets have been tapped like the Middle East, Halal markets and South America.

International development is expected to become increasingly complicated, offering both opportunities and challenges, in which the challenges remain outstanding, he said. Therefore, it is necessary to have high determination, great effort, drastic and focused actions to make breakthroughs in economic diplomacy.

In particular, the year 2025 marks a period of acceleration to achieve all development goals set for 2021-2025. It will also focus on streamlining organizational structures, commemorating important national anniversaries, and effectively conducting Party Congresses at all levels, paving the way for the 14th National Party Congress - a milestone ushering in a new era of national development.

To realize the goal of attaining upper middle income status by 2030 and high income by 2045, Vietnam's economic growth must reach 8% in 2025 and secure double-digit growth in the upcoming development period.

He requested that economic diplomacy must contribute more to achieving this goal; central and local agencies must all make efforts to work harder for more significant outcomes. “With the Party’s direction, the Government’s consensus, the National Assembly’s approval, the people’s support, and the Fatherland’s expectations, our focus is solely on advancing and delivering results, not retreating”.

The Prime Minister requested that economic diplomacy focus on pushing up the signing of legal frameworks such as FTAs, IPAs and CEPAs. He emphasized the need to assess potential gaps, unique opportunities, and competitive advantages of Vietnam and its partners to identify areas for cooperation, mutual supplementation, and competition. Economic diplomacy must also boost the connection between Vietnamese companies and foreign partners.

Pointing out that economic diplomacy is a new important driving force, he called for renewing traditional growth drivers such as exports, investment, and consumption, while fostering new drivers like the green, digital, circular, knowledge, sharing, and night economies, focusing on building brands for Vietnamese products and services, enhancing trade and investment, developing sustainable competitive markets, and diversifying products, markets, and supply chains.