Promoting Vietnamese culture essential for international integration

HÀ NỘI Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn and diplomatic officials have given their thoughts on cultural diplomacy, and the Prime Minister's strategy to showcase Việt Nam's heritage on the world stage. 

Culture has always been considered by the Party and State as the motivation for development, the spiritual foundation of society, and the goal and motivation for the country’s sustainable development.

The country’s leaders often stressed that “culture should be put on equal terms with economics and politics”.

This affirmation is a continuation of President Hồ Chí Minh’s thoughts on the pivotal role of culture in society. The late president once said: “Culture lights the way for national advancement.” 

In other words, culture is considered one of the deciding factors for the building and development of the country.

Cultural diplomacy refers to international activities that serve to exchange values between nations, bringing forward mutual understanding and laying a foundation for the fulfillment of political, economic, national defence, and security missions.

In the diplomacy strategy of any country around the world, cultural diplomacy is always one of the fundamental, crucial missions and factors that brings national strength and diplomatic identity. In Việt Nam, it is an area that the Party and State pay special attention to, especially after the cultural diplomacy strategy towards  二0 二0 was approved by the then Prime Minister Nguyễn Tấn Dũng in  二0 一 一. 

Ten years later, on November  三0,  二0 二 一, six days after the National Cultural Conference was held by the Politburo and the Secretariat of the Party Central Co妹妹ittee, a cultural diplomacy strategy towards  二0 三0 was approved by Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính. 

It sets the goal of integrating culture in diplomatic activities to deepen and stabilise Việt Nam’s relations with other countries, ensure the benefits of the nation and people, create favourable conditions for socio-economic development, and promote the country’s cultural values and beauty.

Strengthen existing achievements

Speaking at a cultural diplomacy conference in Hà Nội in December last year, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bùi Thanh Sơn said cultural diplomatic activities in recent years have made three major achievements. They are: honouring the intellectuality, virtues and ideals of Vietnamese people; promoting the country’s and people’s image through several activities, events and festivals; and taking the Vietnamese cultural values to international standards with campaigns for international titles.

The new cultural diplomacy strategy towards  二0 三0 aims to strengthen and improve these achievements. It specifies the guiding principles of the Party’s  一 三th National Party Congress on external relations and cultural diplomacy, and sets out to overcome the challenges that Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng pointed out in implementing these principles. 

One of the challenges is that “culture has not been recognised and paid enough attention to by authorities at different levels as something on an equal footing with economics and politics, and has not really become a motivation and intrinsic force of the country’s sustainable development,” the Party leader once said. “The introduction and promotion of Việt Nam’s culture to the world were not strong enough; the good, unique cultural values of the country have not been appreciated, preserved and protected enough, and for many times obscene, offensive, non-selective adaptation of foreign cultures have been done.”