Ambassador Nguyen Nguyet Nga: A lifetime of dedication to diplomacy and the country

The World and Vietnam Newspaper respectfully introduces an article by Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, former President of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, with memories and feelings about the excellent female diplomat - Ambassador Nguyen Nguyet Nga.

Ambassador Nguyen Nguyet Nga discussed with delegates at the Vietnam-Australia Forum on enhancing the role and contribution of women in foreign affairs in the digital age, October 3, 2019. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

Shock, sadness and regret are the common feelings of friends and colleagues of Ambassador Nguyen Nguyet Nga when hearing the news that she has left us for eternity. Knowing that human life is impermanent and that she has fought bravely against an incurable disease for the past few years, I still feel lost and heartbroken at this great loss.

The diplomatic sector and our country have lost an excellent, intelligent, sharp, profound, dedicated female diplomat with strategic vision and innovative and creative thinking, who made great contributions to foreign affairs and the country's international integration, and was loved and admired by friends and colleagues at home and abroad. She has passed away, but in the minds of those who had the opportunity to work with her, there is still a deep memory of a person who devoted her whole life to the cause of foreign affairs and the country.

In every position, whether multilateral or bilateral, from being a specialist to being a unit leader, she always works selflessly, full of energy, enthusiasm and is very rich in ideas, initiatives, and worries about how to achieve the best results, ensuring the highest benefits for the country, for peace, cooperation and development.

She is a typical example of a diplomat with great courage and determination, always striving for perfection, not accepting superficial and thoughtless work. She is very serious, always setting high demands in her work, but her colleagues and employees respect and love her because she always accompanies and devotes herself to her work. She is the head of the unit and also the older sister, the "teacher" who cares about the circumstances of each colleague, wholeheartedly instructing them in every detail, meticulously, taking care of everything from small to big things, from researching and proposing Vietnam's ideas and initiatives at multilateral forums to every extra-time meal for her colleagues when they have to work too late at the office.

Middle row from left: Ambassador Nguyen Nguyet Nga (second), Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga and female diplomats. (TGCC Photo)

I was fortunate to work with her when I was working at the Press Information Department and she was the Director of the Multilateral Economic Cooperation Department at that time, serving the ASEM Summit held in Vietnam in 2004 and a number of high-ranking Vietnamese delegations attending ASEM and APEC forums. I remember that during a business trip with her accompanying our Leaders' delegation to the APEC Summit in Singapore, she proposed that the press group join the group working on the content she was in charge of to ensure consistency and meet the requirements of reporting time, an unprecedented action in previous business trips.

I was deeply impressed by her working method, enthusiastically and wholeheartedly exchanging and discussing with the whole group, carefully finalizing each content and wording, and by nearly 3am, when the content issues were ready, the information content for the press was basically completed. She worked tirelessly, passionately, wholeheartedly for her work and we still asked each other where she got the energy to be so resilient.

For us female diplomats, she is someone who always cares about training and mentoring the younger generation. She is very passionate and makes great efforts to promote gender equality and women's empowerment, especially in the context of information technology and digital transformation. She was the one who came up with the idea of connecting generations of female diplomats to share experiences, support and help each other progress, to have more female Ambassadors, female unit leaders and is one of the founders of the Network of Female Ambassadors, Heads of Vietnamese Representative Agencies Abroad and Leaders of Units of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (recently renamed the Network of Vietnamese Female Diplomats).

Many diplomatic officers who were directly trained and groomed by her have now grown up and held important positions such as Ministry Leaders, Ambassadors, and Unit Heads. For me personally, she is like an older sister, always caring, instructing, encouraging, supporting, helping me to be more confident and to fulfill well the assigned responsibilities.

She is an exemplary model of "being good at public affairs and taking care of family affairs". No matter how busy she is, she still takes good care of her family. Every time we have a chance to meet, she is open and happy to share her experiences in practicing yoga and arranging housework. Before I left for New York to take up the position of Head of the Permanent Delegation of Vietnam to the United Nations, my wife and I were invited to dinner by her and Mr. Binh Minh. In the family's cozy small dining room, she personally prepared and decorated the dishes, thoughtfully, attentively and very affectionately, which moved us very much. That memory will remain with me forever.

Ms. Nguyet Nga has passed away, but she has left deep impressions in the diplomatic sector and a beautiful image of a female diplomat, continuing to inspire generations of Vietnamese diplomats.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/dai-su-nguyen-nguyet-nga-tron-doi-cong-hien-cho-su-nghiep-ngoai-giao-va-dat-nuoc-321396.html