Before Vietnam-US relations were normalized in 1995, there were already quiet bridges spanning the ocean, built on compassion, goodwill, and the aspiration for reconciliation. Ha Huy Thong, former Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee for External Relations, who served as head of the advance team establishing the Liaison Office in Washington, D.C. (United States) in 1994-1995, Vice President of the Vietnam-Netherlands Friendship and Cooperation Association, and Member of the Vietnam Council for Peace and Development, recalls meetings marked by people-to-people diplomacy that contributed to the process of normalizing relations between the two countries.

These were the reflections shared by Pham My Le, Secretary of the Youth Union of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO), at the Ceremony celebrating the 75th Anniversary of VUFO’s Traditional Day, as she spoke about the journey of training, growth, and the aspiration to contribute of the young generation in the cause of people-to-people diplomacy.

On November 18 in Hanoi, the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO), in coordination with the All India Peace and Solidarity Organisation (AIPSO), presented the Romesh Chandra Peace Award to Madam Nguyen Thi Binh, former Member of the Party Central Committee, former Vice President, and Honorary President of the Viet Nam Peace and Development Foundation (now the Viet Nam Peace and Development Council), and to Uong Chu Luu, former Member of the Party Central Committee, former Vice Chairman of the National Assembly, and President of the Viet Nam Peace Committee, in recognition of the outstanding contributions made by Vietnamese individuals to the global peace and solidarity movement.

From humanitarian support and disaster relief to United Nations peacekeeping operations, the people of Viet Nam have created positive, effective, and sincere images in the eyes of international friends as well as in global missions.