Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

Vietnam’s current leaders, including those to be elected by the 13th National Party Congress, want the country to play a greater role internationally and to step up proactive international integration, said Carlyle A. Thayer, an Emeritus Professor of Politics at the University of New South Wales in Australia.

The 13th National Party Congress will mark a new milestone in the development process of Vietnam and its Party, as it will shape the country’s future and propel its international integration, said Nicolas Dervaux, Representative of the Governments of the French-Speaking Community of Belgium and the Walloon Region in Vietnam.

Under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), Vietnam has become one of the most impressive, optimistic and successful countries, a Singaporean scholar has said. In an interview granted to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s reporters in Singapore, Associate Prof. Bilveer Singh, deputy head of the Department of Political Science at the National University of Singapore, highlighted the country’s outstanding political stability.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Quoc Dung on January 15 called on correspondents from foreign press agencies and cultural and press attachés as well as representatives from foreign agencies in Vietnam to help in promoting the country’s image among international friends.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh will attend the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat (AMM Retreat) which will be held virtually on January 21, said Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang at a press briefing on January 14.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh has asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) to keep a close watch on, and resolutely and persistently fight to firmly protect Vietnam’s sea and islands sovereignty and legitimate interests in the East Sea.

International economic integration was a bright spot in Vietnam’s external affairs activities in 2020, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son has said.

The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a long shadow and created uncertainty over the global economy. The signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), however, offers a beacon of hope, as it marks a victory for multilateralism and free trade regionally and globally.

Vietnam’s diplomatic sector overcame numerous challenges throughout 2020 to create, grasp and optimise new cooperation opportunities, thus contributing to the country’s progress towards development, stated Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

Foreign media view 2020 as a truly special year for Vietnam as the country has not only performed the dual role of ASEAN Chair and a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) but also done a good job of concurrently containing COVID-19 and sustaining economic growth.

Vietnam is considered one of the 10 nations with the highest gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the world in 2020 and one of the 16 most successful emerging economies, Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong has said.