On January 14th, at the Government headquarters, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired a conference to summarize the work of urging and implementing commitments and agreements in high-level foreign affairs activities during the 2021-2025 term.
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Delegates attending the conference at the Son La province venue.
The conference was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son and leaders of central ministries, departments, and agencies. The conference was held online, connecting to locations in provinces and cities.
At the Son La provincial venue, the conference was attended by Mr. Dang Ngoc Hau, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; and leaders of provincial departments and agencies.
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Delegates attending the conference.
During the 2021-2025 term, Vietnam and its partners signed 927 commitments and agreements, with nearly 350 agreements signed in 2025 alone. The signing and implementation of these commitments and agreements have yielded many important results, contributing to promoting the transformation of the country's economic development model towards a new, green, clean, and sustainable direction; expanding export markets from 24 to 35, including 6 markets exceeding $10 billion and 20 markets exceeding $5 billion; placing Vietnam 70th out of 190 economies; and for the first time in history, establishing comprehensive strategic partnership relations with all five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and strategic partnership relations or higher with all G7 countries and 18 out of 21 G20 members.
The conference was held online.
Besides diversifying in terms of fields, the content of commitments and agreements is increasingly closely aligned with and directly linked to the country's strategic priorities such as science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, sustainable development, and other specialized issues. Vietnam has signed two more FTAs with the UAE and Israel, contributing to a record total import and export turnover of $930 billion in 2025, compared to $545 billion in 2020.
Commitments and agreements are effectively implemented after signing; the time from signing to implementation is significantly shortened; awareness and understanding of international agreements are enhanced, and their implementation is strongly emphasized.
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Delegates attending the conference.
At the conference, localities proposed further strengthening the role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in providing in-depth support in connectivity and technical assistance, especially in negotiating agreements of a complex economic nature requiring a deep understanding of international law. They also suggested accelerating administrative reform in foreign affairs, minimizing unnecessary steps for technical agreements, investment promotion, cultural exchange, or vocational training to ensure timeliness for localities. Furthermore, they proposed expanding the signing authority for local levels; considering allowing commune-level authorities (outside border areas) to sign agreements on exchange and information sharing with equivalent partners… contributing to expanding people-to-people diplomacy and promoting the image of localities more effectively…
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Comrade Dang Ngoc Hau, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, attended the conference at the Son La provincial branch.
Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh commended the efforts of ministries, sectors, and localities in implementing and fulfilling commitments and agreements in high-level foreign affairs. The Prime Minister requested that, in the coming period, the entire country needs to implement foreign affairs work more vigorously and decisively, signing and implementing commitments and agreements with partners; a specific measurement mechanism using KPIs must be built to evaluate the situation of signing and implementing international commitments and agreements, based on the "six clear" principles: clear person, clear task, clear time, clear authority, clear responsibility, and clear product. Timely reporting and explanation to competent authorities on the implementation of international commitments, especially in cases of difficulties and obstacles.
The Prime Minister requested proactive preparation of counterpart resources ready for the signing and implementation of commitments and agreements; especially the allocation of financial and human resources, to avoid missing opportunities for cooperation when international partners express interest. On the other hand, in the context of limited resources, it is necessary to focus on balancing and allocating resources appropriately; in signing agreements with partners, priority should be given to "quality" over "quantity," minimizing the dispersion of resources that leads to waste and reduced effectiveness in implementation.
The call is for proactive and decisive action to overcome difficulties and obstacles arising during implementation, emphasizing "higher determination, greater effort, and more decisive action; focusing only on action, not retreating." Simultaneously, a mechanism for regular, continuous, comprehensive, and all-encompassing review is necessary; prioritizing resources is crucial. Strengthening coordination among ministries, sectors, and localities is essential; and, according to their functions, tasks, and authority, rigorously reviewing commitments and individualizing responsibilities for implementation is also necessary. Proactive preparation of counterpart resources is crucial for signing agreements; proactive and decisive action is needed to overcome difficulties and obstacles arising during implementation; and decentralization and delegation of authority to localities are essential. The effectiveness of the review and monitoring mechanism for implementation should be further enhanced; and unity and close, coordinated efforts should be strengthened to improve the effectiveness of signing and implementing Vietnam's international commitments and agreements.
Minh Thu / baosonla.vn