On the morning of December 22, in Hanoi, within the framework of the 32nd Diplomatic Conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a plenary session on "Building and developing the diplomatic sector".

Attending the meeting were Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang; leaders of a number of central ministries and branches; leaders of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ambassadors, Heads of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad; and key officials of units of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Speaking at the opening session, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son shared that the diplomatic sector has a tradition of paying attention to sector building, identifying sector building as a field of work closely related to foreign affairs.

The Minister emphasized that the Plenary Session on building and developing the diplomatic sector aims to review in the mid-term the results of implementing the policy of the 13th Party Congress on "building a comprehensive and modern diplomacy" with three pillars: Party diplomacy, State diplomacy and People's diplomacy.

Minister Bui Thanh Son suggested that delegates attending the meeting focus on discussing major issues, including promoting institutional development, standardizing regulations and processes; developing high-quality human resources, attracting and utilizing talents, synchronizing facilities, and focusing on upgrading information technology infrastructure.

The meeting listened to a central report on the work of building the sector presented by Permanent Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu and speeches by a number of central departments, ministries, agencies, ambassadors, and heads of Vietnamese representative agencies abroad contributing to the work of building and developing the diplomatic sector.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang commended the outstanding achievements of the diplomatic sector in 2023, contributing to enhancing the country's image, position and prestige in the international arena.

The Deputy Prime Minister affirmed that the diplomatic sector has a glorious and proud historical tradition, with a great asset being the leadership and foundation laid by President Ho Chi Minh, the "father" of modern Vietnamese diplomacy, affirming that this is a great spiritual strength and a valuable driving force of the sector.

The Deputy Prime Minister highly appreciated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' initiative in developing the Project on Strategy for Building and Developing the Diplomatic Sector to 2030, with a vision to 2045; shared his expectation that the Project would resolve many of the difficulties the sector is facing; and requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to soon complete and submit the Project to the Government for approval.

Based on the achievements, the Deputy Prime Minister suggested that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs continue to have a strong transformation in 2024, in accordance with the motto "comprehensive, modern, strong" stated in the theme of the Conference. The Deputy Prime Minister analyzed that comprehensive means knowing how to mobilize the combined strength of the whole country on the foreign affairs front, so that foreign affairs work has unity from the inside out, from top to bottom, with the participation of all agencies, departments and branches. Modern means being in line with the trend, being able to adapt to new developments in the world situation, such as climate change, the development of artificial intelligence... Strong is demonstrated by the fact that diplomats have enough capacity and courage to maintain a pioneering role on the foreign affairs front.

The Deputy Prime Minister suggested that in the coming time, the diplomatic sector needs to pay more attention to training and fostering cadres as well as promoting and attracting talents, first of all with the respect of leaders, the companionship and sharing of colleagues; continue to calculate, organize and rearrange the apparatus associated with promoting digital transformation to improve the quality and efficiency of work.

The Deputy Prime Minister emphasized that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs needs to proactively coordinate and accompany ministries, sectors, localities, and international friends to receive support and "four words of unity" as Uncle Ho once advised: "Unanimity, unanimity, unity, and alliance"./.