Annual meeting discusses 2020 external work

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Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh speaks at the event (Photo: VNA)

Participants shared the view that under the leadership of the Party and State and with efforts of the three sides, external work has contributed to the common success of the country, improving Vietnam’s stature on international arena.

The work has also helped maintain an environment of peace and relative stability for promoting ties with countries and partners, especially global economic integration and improvement of multilateral diplomacy.

Other important pillars and fields of external work such as cultural diplomacy, overseas Vietnamese affairs, citizen protection and popularisation of foreign service information have also seen important results.

They the hailed close and effective coordination between the three sides in every stage of external activities, citing the success in hosting the second US-DPRK Summit, the winning of the election to become a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) with 192 out of the 193 votes, the signing and ratification of the European Union (EU) – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) by the EU, and the completion of the UNSC Chair Month in January and launch of ASEAN Chairmanship Year 2020, among others.

Concluding the event, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh requested the three offices to continue to devising the external policy to submit to the 13th National Party Congress, enhancing information sharing and assessing regional and global situation to serve the consultation work, implementing the 2020 action plan approved by the Politburo, with a focus on fulfilling the role of the ASEAN Chair, the Chair of the 41st General Assembly of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA 41), and a non-permanent member of the UNSC.

He also asked for efforts in making EU parliaments ratify the EU-Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA), and monitoring the implementation of the EVFTA together with the EU.

The Deputy PM also asked them to step up personnel training and increase mutual consultation in external affairs./.