Phan Anh Son has been re-elected President of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organisations (VUFO) for the 2026–2031 term at the union’s 7th National Congress in Hanoi on September 14.
The congress also elected a 97-member Executive Committee for the new term. The committee then elected a 22-member Standing Committee and a five-member Inspection Committee.
The congress reviewed VUFO’s performance during the 2019–2026 term and set out priorities for 2026–2031.
According to the congress report, VUFO and its member organisations made significant changes in people-to-people diplomacy during the last term, following the approach of being proactive, flexible, creative and effective.
From a focus on purely people-to-people exchanges and friendship, the union has shifted strongly toward “political content creation” and closer alignment with the country’s socio-economic development goals.
Its network of international friends and partners was expanded and strengthened in a more diverse and deeper manner. The work helped build a favourable social foundation for Viet Nam’s relations with other countries and contributed to enhancing the country’s international standing.
VUFO also improved the effectiveness of its work with foreign non-governmental organisations, mobilising resources for socio-economic development, environmental protection and better living conditions while contributing to national security and sovereignty.
Research, policy advice and situation monitoring were also strengthened, while external information activities and efforts to engage overseas Vietnamese were renewed to promote Viet Nam’s image and gain greater support from the international community and Vietnamese communities abroad.
Organisational restructuring and personnel training were also given greater attention, helping VUFO and its member organisations operate in a more streamlined and effective manner.
Addressing the congress, Politburo member, Party Central Committee Secretary and President of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee Bui Thi Minh Hoai praised these achievements, saying people-to-people diplomacy is a unique initiative of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh and one of the three pillars of Viet Nam’s diplomacy, alongside Party and State diplomacy.
Hoai urged the union to shift its focus from the quantity of activities to their quality and practical impact, with economic, trade, investment and science-technology links serving as important measures of effectiveness.
She also called for foreign NGO aid mobilisation programmes to be aligned with national development strategies, particularly in areas such as digital transformation, green growth and climate change adaptation.
VUFO should expand its international engagement, renew its network of partners, play a more active role in international people-to-people forums, improve external information work and strengthen coordination with other pillars of Viet Nam’s diplomacy, she said.
Speaking at the congress, Son said for the 2026–2031 term, VUFO will follow the motto “Proactive adaptation, creative breakthroughs, practical effectiveness”.
He stressed that practical contributions to national and people’s interests will be the key measure of its activities.
He expressed confidence that the new term would bring fresh momentum and called on VUFO’s member organisations to further strengthen people-to-people diplomacy and coordinate closely with Party-to-Party and State diplomacy in fulfilling tasks assigned by the Party and State.
