Prime Minister Le Minh Hung on May 11 chaired a working session with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in Hanoi to review its recent performance and discuss key, urgent and strategic tasks for the time ahead.
The PM was quoted by the Vietnam News Agency as stating at the meeting that the 14th National Party Congress identified promoting foreign affairs and international integration as a “regular and key task”, reflecting a major shift in strategic thinking and the Party’s high regard for diplomacy.
He noted that following the restructuring of the political system’s organizational apparatus, the MoFA has assumed the role of unified state management over external affairs, while advising the Party and State on strategic orientations and coordinating Party diplomacy, State diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy.
The PM said rapid, complex and unpredictable global developments are directly affecting Vietnam through increasingly multidimensional and cross-sectoral channels, requiring stronger proactiveness, strategic forecasting and policy responses.
The Government leader acknowledged the ministry’s efforts in maintaining peace and stability, strengthening relations with partners, contributing to the Party’s foreign policy thinking, mobilizing external resources for development, expanding markets for Vietnamese goods and enhancing the country’s international standing.
He also pointed to shortcomings that need to be addressed, particularly in strategic forecasting, policy advice, market expansion and coordination among agencies.
Regarding future priorities, the PM stressed the need to build a clean and strong Party organization within the ministry, while paying special attention to internal political protection, especially in key strategic areas.
He urged relevant agencies to urgently institutionalize the foreign policy orientations adopted at the 14th National Party Congress into concrete plans, projects and mechanisms, including the Politburo’s resolution on implementing the Congress’s foreign policy line, Resolution 59 on international integration in the new situation, and related strategic resolutions.
The PM requested that these tasks be submitted to the Government within May and the second quarter of 2026, alongside necessary guiding documents to ensure immediate implementation.
The MoFA was instructed to coordinate with relevant ministries to review and amend regulations on its functions, tasks and organizational structure, while developing key performance indicators (KPI) - based evaluation mechanisms for officials and creating frameworks to manage external economic activities, investment promotion, tourism promotion and technology diplomacy.
The PM also called for comprehensive and substantive reforms in organizing high-level diplomatic activities, ensuring greater efficiency and closer alignment with Vietnam’s interests and partners’ priorities.
He directed the ministry to accelerate digital transformation and build a digital management system to monitor the implementation of international commitments and agreements, particularly those reached during high-level visits.
At the same time, the ministry was tasked with improving the quality of strategic research and forecasting to support policy responses and safeguard national security and development, especially in serving the goal of achieving double-digit growth and transitioning towards a growth model driven by science, technology, innovation and digital transformation.
Vietnamese representative offices abroad were urged to strengthen market expansion efforts and promote cooperation in trade, science, technology and labor.
The Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam was asked to focus on developing professional lecturers, enhancing strategic research and strengthening cooperation with domestic and international universities, research institutes and experts to improve policy advisory capacity.
At the meeting, PM Hung also gave opinions on several proposals from the ministry, including the urgent completion of a decree guiding mechanisms and policies to enhance international integration efficiency under National Assembly Resolution 250/2025/QH15.
He also assigned the MoFA to coordinate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in developing a Cultural Diplomacy Strategy to 2035 with a vision to 2045 for submission in the third quarter of 2026.
