It also celebrated the 50th founding anniversary of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of External Relations (1975–2025).
Attending the ceremony were former State Presidents Nguyen Minh Triet and Truong Tan Sang, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, and Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc.
The event also welcomed current and former leaders of Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces, representatives from departments of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, municipal agencies and departments, and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of External Relations.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Pham Dut Diem, Acting Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of External Relations, reflected on the department’s five-decade journey of establishment, growth, and development.
Mr. Pham Dut Diem affirmed that, as the nation enters a new era, a period of dynamic advancement, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of External Relations remains committed to upholding its legacy of unity, resilience, and innovation. The department stands ready to fulfill the responsibilities entrusted to it by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the city’s leadership.
Recognizing the prominent role of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of External Relations in leading, advising, and directly implementing the city’s key diplomatic initiatives over the past 50 years, on behalf of the city’s leadership, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc commended and expressed profound gratitude for the enduring and significant contributions made by generations of officials, civil servants, and staff of the department.
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Duoc, building on the remarkable achievements attained thus far, Ho Chi Minh City hopes and firmly believes that the Department of External Relations will continue to demonstrate a proactive, innovative, and forward-thinking spirit in advising on policy and organizing the city’s diplomatic activities. The department is also expected to effectively contribute to the implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution No. 59-NQ/TW dated January 24, 2025, on international integration in the new context, ushering in a new stage in Vietnam’s comprehensive integration process.
Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc called on the Department of External Relations, along with municipal departments, agencies, wards, and communes, to translate strategic goals into concrete actions. These include further expanding and deepening subnational cooperation; maintaining and strengthening ties with Ho Chi Minh City’s network of 86 international partner localities; continuing to allocate resources to elevate multilateral diplomacy; enhancing the effectiveness of economic diplomacy and international integration; and proactively seeking, mobilizing, and connecting international resources, including those from the overseas Vietnamese community in knowledge, expertise, finance, and technology.
He also emphasized the importance of enriching cultural diplomacy associated with external communications, promoting people-to-people diplomacy in coordination with relevant city agencies, and fostering stronger ties with overseas Vietnamese communities, encouraging their continued engagement and contributions to the city’s and the nation’s development.
In his congratulatory remarks at the anniversary ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son emphasized that, with steadfast determination, a pioneering spirit, proactiveness, creativity, and a deep commitment to service, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of External Relations has achieved remarkable accomplishments across multiple areas of its work in recent years.
On behalf of the Party Committee and the leadership of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Bui Thanh Son extended his sincere appreciation to the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, the People’s Committee, and the People’s Council, as well as the city’s departments and agencies, for their close guidance, support, and collaboration with the Department of External Relations.
To realize Ho Chi Minh City’s strategic development goals and vision and to contribute to fulfilling the historic mission of Vietnam’s diplomacy in a new era, Mr. Bui Thanh Son called on the Ho Chi Minh City Department of External Relations to focus its efforts on key priorities in the coming time.
Foremost among these is the need to concretize and implement Politburo Resolution No. 59-NQ/TW on international integration in the current context, as well as Government Resolution No. 153/NQ-CP, which outlines the action plan for executing the Politburo’s resolution.
Building on the guiding framework of the Resolution and Action Program of the First Party Congress of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of External Relations is expected to proactively translate these directives into its own action plans and effectively carry out its political and professional duties. The Department should continue to play an active role across all three pillars of Vietnam’s diplomacy, consisting of Party diplomacy, state diplomacy, and people-to-people diplomacy.
There is a need for a comprehensive, strategic, and effective approach to elevate Ho Chi Minh City's external affairs by 2030, with a vision toward 2045. This includes sustaining and enhancing the existing framework of friendly and cooperative ties with 86 international partner localities, while also expanding and deepening substantive cooperation with foreign counterparts, particularly with countries that maintain special relationships with Vietnam, as well as with comprehensive strategic partners, strategic partners, and traditional friends.
In addition, the highest priority should be given to economic diplomacy, with a focus on developing a diplomatic workforce, particularly by training and nurturing a new generation of young diplomats capable of adapting to and working effectively in a globalized environment.
Simultaneously, comprehensive digital transformation must be accelerated, aiming to establish a connected database linking Vietnamese enterprises with the network of diplomatic missions, consulates, and international organizations based in Ho Chi Minh City.
On this occasion, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of External Relations was honored to receive the First-Class Labor Order awarded by the State President. Individuals who have made significant contributions to the department’s diplomatic efforts were also presented with the Commemorative Medal 'For the Cause of Vietnamese Diplomacy.’
