Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son during a recent meeting with the press described General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong as the embodiment of the country’s sincere heart-to-heart diplomatic style.

Minister Son shared about Party chief Trong's influence on Vietnam's diplomacy with the press at the time when the whole nation is coping with the grief over the passing of the Party leader.

The foreign affairs minister described Party chief Trong as an excellent diplomat of international stature, who has left his historical imprint on Vietnam's achievements in external relations over the past decade.

With his sharp mind, vision, and profound political thinking, the Party chief, along with the CPV Central Committee and its Politburo and Secretariat, not only put forth major foreign policies and guidelines, but also led and instructed their implementation, and directly engaged in strategic-level foreign activities, Son continued.

Vietnamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son gestures during an interview about General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong’s imprints on the country’s diplomacy. Photo: Nguyen Khanh / Tuoi Tre

Under his leadership, this Southeast Asian nation has enhanced its foreign policy system and the frameworks for relations with countries, adding that the number of key resolutions and directives on external relations issued during his tenures is the biggest ever, especially during the 13th Party Central Committee.

Besides, Vietnam has established many strategic and comprehensive partnerships, and even elevated them to a new high.

Up to now, Vietnam has set up strategic partnerships and comprehensive strategic partnerships with all five countries in the United Nations Security Council. 

The Party leader had directly taken part in many major foreign affairs activities.

With the country’s close neighbors like Laos and Cambodia, the Party chief always paid much attention to cultivating the special solidarity, friendship, and cooperation with them, which is clearly evident in the meetings between the top Party leaders of the three countries in Hanoi in 2021 and 2023.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong (C), Laos' Party General Secretary and President Thongloun Sisoulith (L), and President of the Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen at the Vietnam-Cambodia-Laos Summit in Hanoi, September 26, 2021. Photo: Vietnam News Agency

Regarding Vietnam’s relations with great powers, the Party chief’s historic visits to China in 2022, Russia in 2018, and the U.S. in 2015, as well as the state visits to Vietnam by the top leaders of these powers opened up new chapters for bilateral ties between Vietnam with those countries, and further consolidated Vietnam’s strategic position in the region and the world. 

The relations between Vietnam and other major partners such as India, Japan, South Korea, and Australia, along with traditional friends in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America have been elevated and deepened, Son said.

“Over the past few days, when reading telegrams and letters of condolence sent by leaders of states, governments, parliaments, and political parties of many countries as well as international organizations, we can clearly feel the deep affection and respect from country leaders and international friends for our Party leader”, Son recounted.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong (R) and First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba and President of Cuba Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez pose for a photo in Hanoi in 2018. Photo: VGP

Son remarked that Vietnam’s diplomatic achievements over the past tenures were inseparable from the personal reputation of Party chief Trong, as international relations are not just relations among countries, but also among persons. 

The top Vietnamese diplomat elaborated that foreign leaders attach great importance to and highly value the late Party leader’s role and reputation, which is a “very special” thing.

Vietnam’s close neighbors like Laos and Cambodia consider the Party chief a worthy successor of President Ho Chi Minh's career, an excellent and elite revolutionary leader in the new era. 

In their letters of condolences, senior Lao leaders acknowledged his dedication and wisdom which contributed to the continuous development of Vietnam and its increasing position in the international and regional arenas. 

President of the Cambodian People's Party Hun Sen wrote in his letter of condolences that the legacy of Party chief Trong, a clear-minded leader who devoted his entire life to the struggle for Vietnam's independence and for peace and prosperity of the Vietnamese people, will be remembered by many generations.

During his visit to the Vietnamese Embassy in Beijing to pay tribute to the Vietnamese Party leader, China’s Party General Secretary and President Xi Jinping wrote in the condolence book that Trong is a consistent Marxist, a preeminent leader of the Vietnamese Party and people, and a great friend of the Chinese people.

In the hearts of traditional friends, as said by senior Cuban officials, Party chief Trong is a close friend, a brother who always opens his arms to beloved friends.

Some key foreign affairs events attended by Vietnam’s Party chief Nguyen Phu Trong in 2023-24. Photos: Nguyen Khanh - Nam Tran - VTV

Great powers like Russia and the U.S. view the Vietnamese Party chief as a reputable leader in the international arena, who had made tremendous contributions to the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership with Russia, and to creating an intensive and all-round relationship between Vietnam and the U.S.

Russian President Vladimir Putin affirmed that Russia will remember the CPV General Secretary as a true friend who made great personal contributions to the establishment and development of the comprehensive strategic partnership between Hanoi and Moscow.

As for U.S. President Joe Biden, he said in his statement on the passing of the Vietnamese Party leader: “The people of Vietnam and the U.S. – and people across the Indo-Pacific region – enjoy greater security and opportunity today because of the friendship between our two countries. That is thanks to him.”

For many other partners, the head of the CPV Central Committee left outstanding marks on the development of sustainable and long-term friendship and cooperation.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong (L) meets with former U.S. President Bill Clinton at the latter's residence in New York, the U.S., July 10, 2015. Photo: Vietnam News Agency

To international friends, the Party chief was hailed as the embodiment of the country’s traditional heart-to-heart diplomacy, Son said, adding that the Party chief won over other people’s hearts by justice, humanity, reason and morality. 

In all diplomatic activities, with his modesty, openness, and sincerity, along with standard and compassionate behaviors, Party chief Trong garnered affection and admiration from leaders and people of foreign countries, as well as international friends.

His passing is not only a great loss for the Vietnamese people but also leaves deep regret for international friends and those who had the opportunity to meet and interact with him, Minister Son said.

A book by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong on the building and development of Vietnam’s diplomacy deeply imbued with the characteristics of “Vietnamese bamboo”. Photo: Duy Linh / Tuoi Tre

When it comes to Vietnam’s ‘bamboo diplomacy’, Minister Son said that with his wisdom, strategic vision, and profound theoretical thinking, Party chief Trong synthesized and generalized the system of theories on the Party's foreign relations and diplomacy, establishing the country’s distinctive ‘bamboo diplomacy’.

The term ‘bamboo diplomacy’ was first mentioned by Party chief Trong at the 29th Diplomatic Conference in Hanoi in 2016 and reiterated at the first National Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Hanoi in late 2021.

The ‘bamboo diplomacy’ features the characteristics of Vietnamese bamboo with “strong roots, stout trunk and flexible branches," imbued with the soul, the spirit, and the characters of the Vietnamese nation.

General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong tours an exhibition featuring Vietnam’s foreign policy achievements at the 32nd National Diplomatic Conference held in Hanoi in December 2023. Photo: Vietnam News Agency

Minister Son recalled the Party leader's explanation that strong roots signify the principle of serving the national interests, and the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, and multilateralization and diversification of international relations.

Son elaborated that international friends showed their interest in Vietnam's ‘bamboo diplomacy', with leaders, politicians, scholars of China, Russia, the U.S. and traditional partners highly appreciating Vietnam's foreign affairs and diplomacy in the current complex international context.

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