People-to-People Diplomacy in Can Tho 2025: Mobilizing Global Resources for Growth
	Tuyen Quang Conducts Training on People-to-people Diplomacy in 2025

Speaking at the conference, Phan Anh Son highly appreciated the outstanding results achieved by the Ha Noi Union in 2025, affirming that it continues to hold a leading and important role within the system of 30 local unions nationwide and serves as a typical model of Viet Nam’s people-to-people diplomacy.

The conference on the implementation of people-to-people diplomacy tasks for 2026 organized by the Ha Noi Union of Friendship Organizations. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

According to Phan Anh Son, in 2025 the Ha Noi Union organized many large-scale people-to-people diplomacy activities with wide outreach and positive impact, attracting the participation of numerous ambassadors, embassies, and international organizations based in Ha Noi. In particular, the issuance by the Ha Noi Party Committee of Directive No. 45-CT/TU dated August 8, 2025 on strengthening people-to-people diplomacy toward 2030 with a vision to 2045 created a solid political and legal foundation, enabling the Capital’s people-to-people diplomacy activities to be implemented in a more systematic, in-depth manner and more closely aligned with Party diplomacy and State diplomacy.

Alongside recognizing achievements, the President of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations also pointed out several issues that need further improvement. Accordingly, people-to-people diplomacy activities in the coming period need to shift strongly from an emphasis on quantity to improving quality, effectiveness, and substantive impact. Summary reports should not merely list activities but must clearly assess their significance, value, and lessons learned to better serve leadership and management work.

Phan Anh Son, Party Committee Secretary and President of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations, delivers remarks at the conference. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

Analyzing the context of 2026, Phan Anh Son noted that this will be the first year of implementing the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress, while the global and regional situation continues to evolve in a complex manner. Strategic competition among major powers is intensifying, the high-tech race is becoming increasingly fierce, and many non-traditional security issues are posing new requirements for people-to-people diplomacy. In response, he emphasized that the Ha Noi Union needs to focus on addressing core bottlenecks, avoid spreading objectives too thinly, and continue to renew its thinking, content, and methods of organizing activities.

In particular, Phan Anh Son stressed the need to prioritize the training of personnel engaged in the capital’s people-to-people diplomacy, with a focus on improving foreign language proficiency, theoretical knowledge of international relations, and practical skills. At the same time, it is necessary to enhance the participation of young people, intellectuals, scientists, and enterprises; proactively advise on promoting relations with sister cities and international partners of the capital, as well as participate in external affairs delegations of city leaders to areas with cooperation potential.

Commending the sense of responsibility and efforts of the collective of officials and members of the Ha Noi Union, Phan Anh Son expressed his confidence that the Ha Noi Union will continue to uphold its role as the locomotive of local people-to-people diplomacy, contributing to improving the effectiveness of the capital’s people-to-people diplomacy in the coming period.

Nguyen Ngoc Ky, President of the Ha Noi Union of Friendship Organizations. (Photo: Dinh Hoa)

Receiving the guidance of the President of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations, Nguyen Ngoc Ky, President of the Ha Noi Union, affirmed that the Ha Noi Union clearly identifies the requirement to strongly transform people-to-people diplomacy activities toward streamlining, effectiveness, and greater depth, taking substantive results as the key measure.

Emphasizing Ha Noi’s unique role as the locality hosting most diplomatic missions, international organizations, and major external activities of the country, Nguyen Ngoc Ky affirmed that the Capital’s people-to-people diplomacy must truly play a leading and pillar role, performing better than the general level to spread effective practices. The consistent viewpoint is to turn the position and honor of the Capital into a concrete responsibility in organizing and implementing people-to-people diplomacy work.

Regarding the implementation of tasks in the coming period, the President of the Ha Noi Union said that the City will continue to strongly institutionalize people-to-people diplomacy in association with the Capital Law and Directive No. 45-CT/TU, ensuring a consistent vision through 2045. Several new contents will be prioritized, including promoting the effective use of the title “Honorary Citizen of the Capital” as a distinctive channel of people-to-people diplomacy, contributing to expanding Hanoi’s network of international friends.

Nguyen Ngoc Ky also expressed the hope that the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations will continue to strengthen guidance and closely coordinate with Ha Noi in developing plans and assigning tasks early, creating synchronization from the central to the local level and among member associations, thereby improving the overall effectiveness of people-to-people diplomacy in the coming period.

According to the report presented at the conference, in 2025 the Ha Noi Union proactively advised, developed, and synchronously implemented programs and plans for people-to-people diplomacy, achieving many positive, in-depth results with wide outreach. Advisory work, institutional building, and strategic orientation were carried out in a systematic manner, notably through coordination in advising the Standing Committee of the Ha Noi Party Committee to issue Directive No. 45-CT/TU. At the same time, the Union promptly organized dissemination, developed action programs, and implemented them among member associations and organizations, creating a foundation to bring people-to-people diplomacy policies into practice. Activities for peace, solidarity, friendship, and cooperation continued to be organized in a diverse and creative manner, linked with major external events of the Capital and the country. These activities contributed to strengthening friendship between the people of the Capital and international friends, and to promoting the image of Ha Noi as a peaceful, creative, friendly, and integrated city. The 13th Latin American Music Night program organized by the Hanoi Union of Friendship Organizations. (Photo: HAUFO) External reception work, including inbound and outbound delegations, was implemented effectively and in accordance with protocol. External information activities were renewed in both content and form, with the improvement of the electronic information portal, the continued publication of the bilingual Viet Nam–English “Friendship and Cooperation” bulletin, and strengthened coordination with press agencies, contributing to spreading positive information about the Capital’s people-to-people diplomacy to the international community. In addition, humanitarian work, mobilization of foreign non-governmental aid, research, seminars, and professional training continued to receive attention, gradually improving staff quality and the operational effectiveness of the Ha Noi Union system. Based on an objective assessment of achieved results, clearly identifying limitations and their causes, the Ha Noi Union of Friendship Organizations determined that 2026 will continue to be a year of great significance in concretizing the major guidelines of the Party and the City on people-to-people diplomacy. Accordingly, the Ha Noi Union will focus on effectively implementing Directive No. 45-CT/TU; continue advising on the improvement of projects, mechanisms, and policies on the Capital’s people-to-people diplomacy; and promote force development, organizational consolidation, and the enhancement of activity quality among member associations and organizations. Activities for peace, solidarity, friendship, and cooperation will continue to be organized in a practical and specialized manner, linked with major external events and important milestones in relations between Viet Nam and other countries. External reception work for inbound and outbound delegations will be carried out proactively and in line with the City’s foreign policy orientation. At the same time, the Ha Noi Union will focus on improving the effectiveness of external information work, accelerating digital transformation, and strengthening research and forecasting of the global situation and international people’s movements, thereby contributing to improving the quality of advisory work and the organization of people-to-people diplomacy activities in the new context.

VUFO Proactive and Effective in High-level Diplomatic Activities in Viet Nam In 2024–2025, the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO) took the lead and coordinated the organization of numerous friendship exchanges and meetings during state ...

Strengthening People-to-People Diplomacy of Hanoi in the Context of Innovation With the motto “proactive, flexible, creative, and effective,” the Hanoi Union of Friendship Organizations has expanded its international cooperation network, applied technology, and implemented various ...