Politburo Member and Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung delivers the opening speech at the "Diplomacy Accompanies the Business Community" Connection Session. (Photo: Trung Hieu)

The session aimed to discuss opportunities and challenges in the new context and enhance coordination between diplomacy and businesses to serve national development.

In his opening remarks, Politburo Member and Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung emphasised that Vietnam is entering a new era of development, where foreign affairs and international integration continue to be "crucial and regular" tasks, contributing to maintaining a peaceful and stable environment, mobilising external resources, and enhancing the country's position. Amidst rapidly changing and complex global circumstances, the Minister stressed that economic diplomacy needs to continue innovating towards "development facilitation," focusing on serving the people and businesses; promoting new growth drivers, expanding markets, supporting businesses in effective integration, and enhancing policy advisory quality.

Emphasising that the success of businesses is also a measure of the effectiveness of diplomacy serving development, the Minister affirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with a network of nearly 100 Vietnamese Representative Missions abroad, is always ready to accompany, support, and act as a bridge for businesses in expanding international cooperation. The Minister highlighted that Vietnamese Representative Missions will continue to proactively support businesses in connecting with partners, expanding markets, attracting investment, promoting cooperation in science and technology, innovation, agriculture, developing new flight routes, and building specific cooperative products and projects; while also effectively promoting cultural diplomacy, culinary promotion, and the image and brand of Vietnam; facilitating production, business, and investment activities of enterprises abroad.

Politburo Member and Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung takes a commemorative photo with Heads of Vietnamese Representative Missions abroad attending the Business Connection Session. (Photo: Trung Hieu)

The Minister urged the delegates to engage in frank and substantive discussions, focusing on practical issues in attracting external resources, expanding markets, connecting partners, and enhancing the effectiveness of coordination between businesses and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnamese Representative Missions abroad.

In the first discussion session themed "Attracting External Resources for National Development", Party Central Committee Member and Standing Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu emphasised the need to further promote the role of foreign affairs, especially economic diplomacy and the network of Vietnamese Representative Missions abroad, in connecting resources and policy advisory. In this spirit, delegates focused on discussing the needs of businesses in attracting investment, linking supply chains, cooperating in technology transfer, and enhancing production capacity; while proposing solutions to strengthen coordination between businesses and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Vietnamese Representative Missions abroad.

Politburo Member and Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Hoai Trung takes a commemorative photo with all delegates attending the Business Connection Session. (Photo: Trung Hieu)

The second discussion session, themed "Vietnamese Enterprises Go Global, Expanding Development Space", chaired by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Hang, focused on discussing the need to expand export markets and invest abroad for Vietnamese businesses, as well as the opportunities and challenges in the new context. Discussions emphasized the need to support businesses in accessing new markets, understanding trends, standards, regulations, and the needs of international partners, while enhancing competitiveness, building brands, and participating more deeply in global value chains.

Throughout the two discussion sessions, delegates highly appreciated the initiative to organize the Business Connection Session within the framework of the 33rd Diplomatic Conference, considering it a practical forum for diplomatic agencies and the business community to engage closely, share openly, and frankly about needs, difficulties, and solutions to enhance coordination in the new context. Many opinions affirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs plays an important role in accompanying businesses in international integration, particularly the network of Vietnamese Representative Missions abroad, which can support providing market information, policy advice, partner connections, investment promotion, trade, technology transfer, and resolving arising difficulties in the process of expanding international operations of businesses. Delegates also appreciated the role of Ambassadors and Heads of Representative Missions in proactively connecting, supporting, and accompanying businesses, thereby contributing to many specific and practical cooperation results in attracting investment, expanding markets, connecting partners, and implementing projects in the area.

The "Diplomacy Accompanies Businesses" Connection Session continues to affirm the determination of the diplomatic sector in focusing on serving the people and businesses, effectively utilizing the network of Vietnamese Representative Missions abroad to accompany businesses in attracting resources, expanding markets, connecting partners, promoting innovation, and enhancing competitiveness, thereby contributing to expanding development space and successfully achieving the country's development goals in the new phase.

Party Central Committee Member and Standing Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu (first from left) speaks at the discussion session. (Photo: Trung Hieu)

Speakers discuss at the Business Connection Session. (Photo: Trung Hieu)