People's diplomacy with the country rising up in the new era

People's diplomacy has contributed to building a positive social foundation, facilitating Vietnam's relations with the people of the world, building an image of Vietnam as friendly, trustworthy, and responsible, thereby enhancing the country's position and contributing to protecting national interests.

Continuing tradition, building strength

During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh once said: “The strength, greatness and endurance of the Vietnamese people are fundamentally in the solidarity of the Vietnamese people and the support of the people of the world ... International solidarity has great significance for us.”

Starting his journey to find a way to save the country as a patriot on the ship Admiral Latouche-Tréville, he absorbed the values ​​and cultural quintessence of many nations in the world, understanding better than anyone the important role of people's diplomacy, of domestic people's solidarity and international people's solidarity in the cause of national liberation struggle as well as in building and defending the Fatherland.

President Ho Chi Minh received a delegation of the China-Vietnam Friendship Association led by Comrade Yang Sifeng, member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Chairman of the China-Vietnam Friendship Association, on a friendship visit to Vietnam (1966). (Photo courtesy)

President Ho Chi Minh always paid attention to people's foreign affairs and considered it an important pillar of Vietnam's modern diplomacy. He directed and organized the Party's foreign affairs activities, held the position of the first Minister of Foreign Affairs, and also directly directed the establishment of our country's first people's foreign affairs organizations, namely the Vietnam-US Friendship Association (1945), the Vietnam-China Friendship Association (1950) and the Vietnam World Peace Protection Committee (1950).

In the two struggles for national independence and liberation, under the leadership of President Ho Chi Minh and our Party, with the strengths of flexibility, broad access, the ability to exploit the soft power of culture, emotions and common values ​​to create consensus and support for the country's policies and goals, the Vietnamese people's foreign affairs forces helped the people of the world understand the justice of our nation's struggle, thereby mobilizing a broad world people's front, from the people of colonial countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the people of socialist countries, to the people of capitalist countries in Europe, especially the people of France and the people of the United States and the peace and democracy movements in the world (World Peace Council, the Asian-African People's Solidarity Organization and international democratic organizations).

Over 50,000 Americans marched to Washington, D.C. and held a rally to protest the US government's war of aggression against Vietnam (November 27, 1965). (Photo courtesy)

The international front supporting and uniting with Vietnam also includes political activists, parliamentarians, political parties, intellectuals, artists, etc. in many countries, helping Vietnam "combine national strength with the strength of the times" to create a great victory for the Vietnamese revolution.

When the war ended, in the context of the country having to endure the wounds of war and being besieged and embargoed, people's diplomacy continued to closely coordinate with Party foreign affairs and State diplomacy to "lead the way", both mobilizing international friends to help Vietnam overcome the consequences of the war and contributing to the normalization of relations with China and the United States, while strengthening solidarity with the people of Laos, Cambodia, the Soviet Union and the socialist countries of Eastern Europe and expanding relations with the people of a number of countries in Northern Europe, Western Europe, Japan and the United States.

Delegation of the Vietnamese People's Congress visited and lobbied the US to normalize relations with Vietnam (1991). (Photo courtesy)

Strong innovation, expanding cooperation

Entering the period of innovation and international integration, Vietnamese people's organizations, including the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations (VUFO) and its member organizations, continue to thoroughly grasp and actively implement the Party's foreign policy.

With a wide network of partners in all social sectors, Vietnamese people's organizations have organized many activities of peace, friendship, cooperation, traditional education, image promotion, cultural exchange... promoting propaganda and promotion of Vietnam, deepening friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and people of other countries, creating a favorable environment for the country's development.

Launching ceremony of the Red Journey of Youth Research and Study within the framework of the Vietnam-China People's Friendship Exchange during the visit to Vietnam of General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping (April 2025). (Source: VUFO)

In recent years, VUFO, together with Vietnamese people's organizations, has determined to innovate in thinking, content, approach and organization methods of people-to-people diplomacy activities.

One of the outstanding new points is people-to-people diplomacy, with the trust of the Party and State leaders, actively participating in the foreign affairs activities of key leaders, as well as advising on organizing people-to-people diplomacy activities of Party and State leaders and leaders of countries, including major countries such as the United States, China, Russia, traditional friends such as Laos, Cambodia, Cuba, strategic and comprehensive strategic partners such as South Korea, Japan and other important partners. Most recently, the activity "General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam meets Korean friends" during the State visit to South Korea by General Secretary To Lam in August 2025.

The 22nd Congress of the World Peace Council is organized by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, the Vietnam Peace Committee in coordination with the World Peace Council (November 2022). (Source: VUFO)

VUFO and other people's foreign affairs forces have also continuously expanded the field of people's foreign affairs, including promoting international cooperation in economics, trade, science - technology, education, health, etc., increasing the mobilization of external resources to serve sustainable development, bringing practical benefits to the people.

On multilateral channels, Vietnamese people's organizations continue to participate actively and responsibly in traditional people's cooperation mechanisms such as the World Peace Council, the Asian-African People's Solidarity Organization, world democratic organizations of youth, women, trade unions, etc. and expand and strengthen their participation, role and voice in important multilateral forums and mechanisms of the United Nations, ASEAN, Asia-Europe, etc., thereby making international public opinion understand Vietnam's peaceful and friendly foreign policy and Vietnam's contributions to resolving international and regional issues.

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam To Lam met with Korean friends who are representatives of Korean intellectuals, associations, people's organizations, businesses and non-governmental organizations operating in Vietnam during his State visit to Korea (August 2025). (Source: VUFO)

In the country's socio-economic development, people-to-people diplomacy has recently made significant contributions with many activities connecting Vietnamese enterprises with enterprises of other countries and notably mobilizing external resources, especially through foreign non-governmental organizations to serve the country's socio-economic development.

Orientation in the new era

“In the context of the world in a period of epochal change, our country is standing at a new historical starting point, a new era, an era of the Vietnamese people's rise” as General Secretary To Lam commented, in order to promote tradition, take advantage of the country's potential and position, the forces working in people's foreign affairs, including the VUFO system, need to continue to effectively implement the following orientations:

Firstly, continue to thoroughly grasp and properly and effectively implement the foreign policy of the 13th National Party Congress on "independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development; multilateralize and diversify foreign relations, proactively and actively integrate deeply into the international community, for the benefit of the nation and people on the basis of the fundamental principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, equality, cooperation and mutual benefit"; effectively implement the country's major policies and strategies, especially the two 100-year goals identified in the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress: "The immediate goal in 2030 is to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Party and become a developing country with modern industry and high average income. In 2045, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the country, becomes a developed socialist country with high income".

The signing ceremony of the Cooperation Agreement between the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations and the Russian International Cooperation Association on cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, science, culture, education, humanities, sports, tourism and people-to-people exchange, witnessed by senior leaders of Vietnam and the Russian Federation at the Vietnam-Russia Business Forum, taking place on May 11, 2025 in Moscow with the participation of General Secretary To Lam. (Source: VUFO)

Second , it is necessary to further strengthen the work of building forces and consolidating the organization and apparatus for people's foreign affairs work. The policy of arranging socio-political organizations and mass associations assigned by the Party and the State under the direct leadership of the Vietnam Fatherland Front is an important strategic step of the Party, not only helping to streamline the focal points and avoid overlap, but more importantly, increasingly strengthening the Party's leadership and direction for one of the pillars of foreign affairs and improving the effectiveness of coordination among forces doing people's foreign affairs work nationwide.

A technician from the NGO MAG moves one of two 16-inch (about 0.4m) diameter artillery shells found in a cajuput garden in Gio Linh district, Quang Tri province to a centralized demolition site (April 2016). (Source: VUFO)

Third , people's diplomacy needs to continue to coordinate more closely with Party diplomacy and State diplomacy in policy consultation and implementation of foreign affairs activities, including handling complex and sensitive issues so that each pillar of foreign affairs can promote its own strengths, to create a solid tripod, so that foreign affairs can further promote "its pioneering role in creating and maintaining a peaceful and stable environment, contributing to protecting the country early and from afar, mobilizing external resources to contribute to realizing development aspirations, enhancing the country's position and prestige".

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/doi-ngoai-nhan-dan-cung-dat-nuoc-vuon-minh-trong-ky-nguyen-moi-325928.html