Leaders’ activities

On January 1^st, on the occasion of the 64th National Day of the Republic of Cuba (January 1, 1959 - 2023), Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and President Nguyen Xuan Phuc extended their congratulations to First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba Central Committee and President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent a message of congratulations to Cuban Prime Minister Manuel Marrero Cruz; and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue sent his greetings to President of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba Esteban Lazo Hernández.

On the same day, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son sent his congratulations to his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez Parilla.

On December 28, in Hanoi, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc received the outgoing Ambassadors of Sri Lanka and Cambodia, who came to bid their farewells. President Phuc affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to the traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Sri Lanka. He highly valued the diplomat’s efforts to boost cultural exchanges and partnerships in religious affairs and trade while thanking the South Asian country for supporting Vietnam’s candidacy for membership of the UN Human Rights Council for 2023-2025.

At the reception for Cambodian Ambassador Chay Navuth, President Phuc highlighted the two countries’ cooperation achievements, including increasingly consolidated political trust and the building of a shared border of peace, stability, friendship, and cooperation for common development. The State President applauded the two sides’ coordination in holding activities in celebration of the Vietnam - Cambodia Friendship Year 2022. The President also congratulated Cambodia on its successes in holding communal-level council elections in June and serving as Chair of ASEAN and the 43rd General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA) this year.

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) and Cambodian Ambassador Chay Navuth. (Photo: VNA)

On December 30, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent a letter of congratulations to Sonexay Siphandone on being approved by the Lao National Assembly as Prime Minister of Laos. The Vietnamese Prime Minister expressed his wish to join hands with his Lao counterpart to continue ceaselessly fostering and consolidating the great friendship, special solidarity and comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, for practical benefits of their people and for peace, stability and development in the region and the world.

On December 30, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue extended congratulations to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Speaker of the Parliament Amir Ohana of Israel on the establishment of Israel’s new government and election of Parliament Speaker. On the same day, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son sent a message of congratulations to Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen.

On December 29, on the occasion of Mr. Pushpa Kamal Dahal's inauguration as Prime Minister of Nepal, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh sent a congratulatory message.

On December 27, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) to build a 180-day action plan to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, as recommended by the European Commission (EC), and submit it to the Prime Minister and the Government for approval.

MARD, the Standing Board of the National Steering Committee on IUU Prevention and Control, was also asked to deploy inter-sectoral inspection teams to coastal localities to examine the implementation of regulations against IUU fishing and give guidelines on the settlements of problems, according to a Government Office’s Notice (No. 393/TB-VPCP) on the conclusion of Prime Minister Chinh at a recent conference on IUU fishing. Along with improving the awareness of fishermen in preventing IUU fishing and supporting them in the work, ministries, sectors and localities must strictly implement the fisheries law, while adjusting and supplementing relevant legal documents in a timely manner, the Prime Minister stressed.

On December 29, National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue hosted a reception in Hanoi for Cambodian Ambassador Chay Navuth, who came to say goodbye at the end of his tenure in Vietnam. The NA Chairman lauded contributions by the Ambassador in particular and the Cambodian Embassy in general to fostering the good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, and comprehensive, sustainable and long-term cooperation between the two countries at all channels of Party, State, Government, parliament and people-to-people exchange. The NA Chairman also said he hopes that on the basis of the established mechanisms, the Vietnamese and Cambodian legislatures will step up delegation exchanges at all levels.

Activities of the Foreign Minister

On December 30, 2022, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son sent a letter of congratulations to Qin Gang on his appointment as Minister of Foreign Affairs of China. Minister Bui Thanh Son emphasized that the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs is ready to work with the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to thoroughly realize the common perception at the high level, especially the outcomes of the official visit to China by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong recently; making the comprehensive strategic cooperation partnership between Vietnam and China deeper, more substantive and effective, for the benefit of the two peoples as well as peace, stability and cooperation in the region and in the world.

On the occasion of the New Year 2023, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son wrote an article about the role and of the Diplomatic Sector in 2022.

Bilateral activities

On December 28, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang hosted a reception for Queen Mother of Bhutan Gyalyum Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck in Hanoi. Welcoming the Bhutan Queen Mother's visit to Vietnam for the first time, Hang said that although the two countries have set up their diplomatic relations just for 10 years, the bilateral friendship and cooperation have grown positively with a bright spot being tourism partnership. She thanked Bhutan for supporting Vietnam’s candidacy to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 tenure, expressing hope that the Queen Mother and the Royal Family of Bhutan will continue to promote cooperation with Vietnam at international and regional forums, especially UN bodies.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang hosted a reception for Queen Mother of Bhutan Gyalyum Dorji Wangmo Wangchuck in Hanoi on December 28, 2022. (Photo: WVR/Quang Hoa)

On December 28, Cambodian Ambassador to Vietnam Chay Navuth awarded medals to Vietnamese individuals who have contributed to activities of the Embassy in Vietnam and a certificate of merit to the Executive Committee of the Cambodian Student Association in Vietnam.

On December 27, in Hanoi, Japanese Ambassador to Vietnam Yamada Takio had a visit and working session with Editor-in-Chief and staff of the World & Vietnam Report, press agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the meeting, Editor-in-Chief of the World & Vietnam Report (WVR) Nguyen Truong Son and Japanese Ambassador Yamada Takio touched upon cooperation opportunities between WVR and the Embassy of Japan. The Editor-in-Chief emphasized the importance of Vietnam-Japan relations, especially when the two countries will celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2023 (September 21, 1973 - 2023).

Multilateral activities

On December 30, 2022, Vietnamese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Dang Xuan Dung accepted the rotating chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Committee in Riyadh (ARC) from Thai Ambassador Darm Bootham . Ambassador Dang Xuan Dung affirmed that he will make every effort during his term to promote ARC activities in the spirit of solidarity and attachment to ASEAN, enhance ASEAN's image in Saudi Arabia, and promote cooperation with the host country in all fields, especially political, economic, cultural.

Other activities

On December 28, in Hanoi, State Commission for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, held a press conference to inform about the situation of overseas Vietnamese community. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Quang Hieu, Chairman of the Commission is delighted that the overseas Vietnamese community is increasingly attached to the homeland, become an integral part and an important resource of the Vietnamese people.

According to Deputy Head of the State Commission for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs Mai Phan Dung, the annual “Xuan Que Huong” (Homeland Spring), the biggest external and cultural event for overseas Vietnamese (OVs) on the occasion of the Lunar New Year festival, will take place in Hanoi on January 14, 2023, with about 3,000 people taking part, including 1,000 OVs.

On December 28, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu chaired the December 2022 meeting between the Steering Committee for Economic Diplomacy and Vietnamese representative Missions abroad. (Photo: WVR/Quang Hoa)

On December 28, Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu chaired the December 2022 meeting between the Steering Committee for Economic Diplomacy and Vietnamese representative Missions abroad.