On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the traditional day of the PCC Commission for External Relations (November 1, 1949-2019), Hoang Binh Quan, member of the PCC and head of the commission, granted Nhan Dan Newspaper an interview, in which he highlighted the accomplishments of external affairs of the Party in different periods as well as the requirements and key tasks set for the commission in the time ahead.
Quan affirmed that in each historical period of the Vietnamese revolution, the Party’s foreign affairs always hold a special position and role and contribute significantly to the successful implementation of the strategic tasks of the struggling cause for national liberation, reunification, construction and protection.
During the past struggle for national liberation and reunification, the Party’s foreign affairs proactively expanded relations with political parties and progressive movements arround the world, while propagating and mobilising the great and effective support from socialist countries and the solidarity and strong support of the international communist and workers’ movements, thus creating an unprecedented widespread world people’s front to support the just struggle of the Vietnamese people, contributing significantly to the overall success of the resistant war for national salvation and southern liberation, and pushing the whole country on path to socialism.
Entering the renewal period, the Party has step by step formed and completed a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, cooperation and development, multilateralisation and diversification of external relations, proactive and active international integration, and being a friend, a reliable partner and a responsible member of the international community. The Party’s external relations have upheld its proactive and active role in breaking the siege, isolation and embargo, in addition to overcoming the incidents and turbulences of the international communist and workers’ movements and of world history, making significant contributions to maintaining and promoting a peaceful and stable environment and safeguarding national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as taking advantage of favourable conditions in service of national development.
Particularly, over recent years, the Party’s foreign affairs have contributed significantly to shaping, developing and creating an important political base for Vietnam’s relations with other countries, Quan said.
He added that the Party’s external relations have been constantly expanded in an extensive fashion, not only with the communist parties, workers’ parties, leftist parties and progressive movements, but also with the ruling parties, political parties, major opposition parties and the parties which have a political future in many of Vietnam’s strategic and important partners. This is a landmark breakthrough, facilitating Vietnam’s proactive response to the rapid political fluctuations in the world and the constant change in the ruling position in countries, and more importantly opening up a wider foreign affairs space for the country.
In addition, the Party’s foreign affairs have created an important political foundation for the stabilisation, expansion and enhancement of Vietnam’s relations with other countries, while contributing directly to dealing with many issues related to security and national development, as well as the problems arising in bilateral relations. In particular, the external activities of the General Secretary and other senior Party leaders are always the milestones that create extremely important conditions to proactively implement the foreign affairs policies.
According to the Party official, together with Vietnam’s renewal, the Party’s external relations have directly made valuable contributions to the world revolutionary movement, helping to strengthen mutual understanding and consolidating the solidarity bloc of the international communist and workers’ movements and the cause of peace, national independence, democracy and social progress in the world, while improving the international position of the Vietnamese Party and State.
Touching upon the requirements and key tasks set for the PCC’s External Relations Commission in the time ahead, Quan emphasised the need to enhance the quality of researching and forecasting the situation to propose the relevant foreign policies, in addition to strengthening and expanding the Party relationships.
The commission also needs to effectively organise the Party’s external relations activities, foster close coordination with other diplomatic agencies, and provide timely consultations for the PCC, the Politburo and the PCC Secretariat to effectively lead and direct the foreign affairs work, he stated.
