The event was attended by Mr. Nguyen Loc Ha, Standing Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ngo Le Van; and leaders of various municipal departments and agencies.
Speaking at the conference, Acting Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs, Pham Dut Diem, said that 2025 marked a year of comprehensive success for the city’s external affairs, reflecting close alignment between the strategic direction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the dynamism and creativity of the Ho Chi Minh City administration.
As the city expands its development space following administrative consolidation, he noted that the department’s key task in 2026 will be to elevate strategic thinking in external relations, shifting decisively from “participating in integration” to “proactively shaping it.” This will include more effective management of foreign affairs across a broader jurisdiction, while contributing to early and preventive security efforts and better safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of citizens and businesses.
Standing Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Loc Ha congratulated Vietnam’s diplomatic sector on its notable achievements in 2025, while acknowledging and commending the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Foreign Affairs for its advisory and coordinating role in organizing external relations activities, which have helped enhance the city’s international image and standing.
Looking ahead to 2026, he called on the department to continue pursuing a proactive, comprehensive, and effective approach to external affairs; to further improve the quality of foreign engagement undertaken by city leaders; to advise on the formulation of an external relations action plan for the 2025–2030 period with a vision to 2045; and to ensure the effective implementation of new central-level resolutions and regulations on international integration.
