On August 28, 1945, in the historic autumn days of the August Revolution, the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was established. On this momentous day, President Ho Chi Minh directly assumed the role of the first Minister of Foreign Affairs, establishing and personally guiding the young diplomatic sector. This date has since been celebrated as the traditional day of the Vietnamese diplomatic service. From its early days, diplomacy was tasked with a dual mission: to protect the young independence of the nation and to open doors of cooperation with friends across five continents. President Ho Chi Minh and the Party always highly valued this critical role, declaring that "after defense, diplomacy is essential for an independent country".
During the revolutionary struggle, diplomacy served as a "combat arm of the Vietnamese revolution on the front without gunshots," connecting the nation with international partners. Through intellect, bravery, and tactical skill on the negotiating table, diplomacy successfully translated military victories into political triumphs, forcing other nations to respect Vietnam’s sovereignty and freedom. For its outstanding contributions over eight decades, the diplomatic service has been honored twice with the Gold Star Order and once with the Ho Chi Minh Order.
In the Doi Moi era, diplomacy took the lead in breaking encirclement and economic embargoes, normalizing relations, and expanding the country’s foreign landscape through an independent, autonomous, multilateral, and diversified foreign policy. To date, Vietnam has established open foreign relations with 189 member states of the United Nations, alongside a solid network of 30 strategic and comprehensive partners. It has successfully assumed major international roles, including serving as the ASEAN Chair in 2020, a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2020–2021 term, and the President of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly.
According to national leadership, the global context remains highly complex and unpredictable, demanding that diplomacy continue to adapt, innovate thinking, and maintain its pioneering role to serve the nation's development. General Secretary and President To Lam highlighted that Vietnamese diplomacy bears the mission of keeping a peaceful, stable environment to serve the nation's two 100-year strategic goals. This approach relies on a unique strategy of "flexible balance" that has been masterfully refined over eighty years.
In the current economic and technological landscape, the focus is placed heavily on economic diplomacy and technology diplomacy. The sector aims to:
- Attract high-quality strategic foreign direct investment (FDI), core technologies, and elite human resources.
- Open new markets, upgrade and sign next-generation, high-quality free trade agreements (FTAs), and connect crucial regional initiatives in infrastructure, logistics, supply chains, and green finance.
- Pioneer in global issues, actively participating in and proposing initiatives for climate change mitigation, energy security, water security, and technology transfer.
- Strengthen the country's "soft power" by promoting cultural diplomacy, information dissemination, and the distinct image of the Vietnamese nation and its people to the world.
To ensure national interests are protected from early and from far, diplomacy must act as the "ears and eyes" of the Party and State, providing reliable strategic forecasts and assessments. This requires a tight coordination mechanism between defense, security, and foreign affairs, forming a sturdy "three-legged stool" to safeguard the country.
The success of national diplomacy is inherently tied to active local coordination, as leadership emphasizes the need to strengthen patriotic emulation, exchange of experiences, and close coordination between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and local authorities across the country. Diplomacy is not a separate domain; it requires local actions to realize national strategic policies.
As a key coastal gateway and an industrial and logistical hub, Hai Phong plays an active role in this coordinated network. The city’s local security forces participate in the wider coordinate framework with defense and foreign affairs to maintain social stability, ensuring a secure domestic environment that is vital for hosting foreign investment and localized integration.
While the provided documents do not extensively detail specific local diplomatic events unique to Hai Phong, they emphasize that the city remains an essential link in the country’s broader defense-security-diplomacy synergy, contributing to the nation's transition into a "new era of vươn mình" (rising up). Through local stability, economic openness, and strict coordination with central policies, Hai Phong helps ensure that the torch of Vietnamese diplomacy continues to burn brightly, illuminating the path toward sustainable development and prosperity.