In Viet Nam’s external affairs activities in 2025, President Luong Cuong has attached great importance to nurturing and strengthening the power of national unity, reconciliation, and healing, steering the country towards renewal and international integration as it enters a new era with renewed momentum and determination.
The president underscored that Viet Nam and the US stand as a testament to the spirit of setting aside the past, overcoming differences, and looking to the future. The two countries have travelled a long road — from former adversaries to a comprehensive strategic partnership for peace, cooperation, and sustainable development — grounded in genuine understanding and mutual respect. Today’s Viet Nam is a friendly, dynamic, and peace-loving destination in the Asia-Pacific region as well as a reliable and responsible partner of the international community in the pursuit of lasting peace.
WHEREVER WE MAY BE, WE ARE ALL VIETNAMESE
Unity is a tradition forged over thousands of years and has always been the wellspring of strength throughout the nation’s history of nation-building and defence, especially in the Ho Chi Minh era.
Wherever they may live, Vietnamese people are all an inseparable part of the great Vietnamese family. President Luong Cuong, in his meeting with overseas Vietnamese in the homeland, affirmed that after 80 years since its founding and 50 years of national reunification — having overcome the pain and devastation of war and the pervasive poverty of the past — Viet Nam has now risen to become an independent and free nation, a developing country with middle income, and has deeply and broadly integrated into global politics, the world economy, and human civilisation.
In the nation’s great achievements, the contributions and support of overseas Vietnamese communities have always played a highly important role. Great national unity is both the prerequisite and the source of strength. Nurturing the great bloc of national unity is a continuous journey spanning the past, present, and future. The president stressed that remembering yesterday aims to cherish today, nurture aspirations for tomorrow, close the chapter on what has passed, and together preserve and strengthen the great bloc of national unity while looking towards a bright future.
Viet Nam is preparing a solid foundation and confidently stepping into a new era of development, prosperity, breakthroughs, and acceleration towards building a strong, democratic, equitable, civilised, prosperous, and happy nation, standing shoulder to shoulder with the world’s leading powers and contributing ever more to peace, stability, and development in the region and beyond.
The Party and the state have consistently embraced an open-door approach, valuing every contribution and listening to all constructive voices of unity from overseas Vietnamese communities, while expressing the desire to create favourable conditions and provide support for Vietnamese people across the five continents to move forward.
In his policy address at the Arab League, the president called on the governments of member states to further facilitate stable livelihoods and living conditions for more than 30,000 Vietnamese workers currently employed in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, enabling them to contribute positively to the socio-economic development of host countries as well as to relations between those countries and Viet Nam.
Meanwhile, in a meeting with the Vietnamese community living and studying in Busan, the Republic of Korea, the President reaffirmed that the Party and state regard overseas Vietnamese as an inseparable part of the great bloc of national unity and a valuable resource for the country. He encouraged compatriots to uphold the spirit of mutual support and solidarity, help one another, strictly comply with the laws of host countries, and make positive contributions to national development in all fields as well as to bilateral relations.
WORKING TOGETHER TO BUILD AN ERA OF PEACE, COOPERATION, AND DEVELOPMENT
Beyond emphasising the need to persistently build the great bloc of national unity, the spirit of peace and amity deeply embedded in Viet Nam’s national identity is clearly demonstrated by the country’s history of relations with partners that were once former adversaries. This history highlights the power of dialogue, reconciliation and the spirit of “setting aside the past and looking to the future” as a foundation for nations to coexist peacefully.
In Viet Nam’s multilateral diplomatic activities in 2025, the moment when the Vietnamese national anthem resonated in New York at a formal reception commemorating the 80th anniversary of Viet Nam’s National Day — hosted by the president and his spouse on the occasion of his attendance at the High-level General Debate of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, combined with bilateral activities in the US — left profound and emotional impressions on every Vietnamese person, as well as on American and international friends. This event was of great significance as 2025 marked the 50th anniversary of the end of the war in Viet Nam, the 30th anniversary of the normalisation of diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and the United States, and the second anniversary of the establishment of the comprehensive strategic partnership. It also stood as vivid proof of a Viet Nam that values unity, reconciliation, healing, cooperation, overcoming differences, and working together to build and develop a prosperous and thriving nation.
During the visit, there were many deeply moving moments, including tears shed as stories were shared, hands were clasped and memorabilia exchanged at the Meeting of Vietnamese–American Veterans. The war took an immense toll on both the Vietnamese and American peoples, leaving behind unfinished dreams and lingering trauma.
With compassion and tolerance, the Vietnamese people chose to set aside the painful past to look towards the future — choosing forgiveness but not forgetting — so that future generations of Viet Nam and the US can together build an era of peace, cooperation, development, and mutual respect.
John Terzano, a US veteran who served in the war in Viet Nam, did not hide his deep emotions when speaking about his journey of returning to Viet Nam since 1981, sharing: “For me, returning to Viet Nam has been an emotional journey — a journey of transformation over many years, from war, anger and sorrow to reconciliation, peace, justice, and friendship.”
Meanwhile, US Congressman Brian Mast, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in his meeting with President Luong Cuong, affirmed that Viet Nam–US relations are a model of healing and reconciliation. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the administration of President D. Trump always regards Viet Nam as one of its top priority partners in the region, affirming that closer cooperation opens greater opportunities for bilateral relations, and that the US stands ready to accompany Viet Nam for the benefit of the peoples of both countries.
It can be said that the spirit of peace and amity, compassion, and tolerance deeply ingrained in the nation’s identity has enabled Viet Nam to overcome pain, heal wounds, set aside the past, and move towards a bright future. As President Luong Cuong affirmed: “Viet Nam and the US both recognise that no hatred is permanent and no wound is beyond healing, if we know how to open our hearts and look to the future.”
