(VOVworld) – The Party Central Committee’s External Relations Commission reviewed Vietnam’s people-to-people diplomacy in 2015 and discussed goals for 2016 at a meeting in Hanoi on Monday.

Politburo member Le Hong Anh said priority should be given to stepping up international integration, consolidating friendship with neighboring countries, and expanding international partnerships. He added that it is necessary to increase coordination between Vietnamese organizations and between Party, state, and people-to-people diplomacy: “People play an important role in expanding relations between Vietnam and other countries. Party committees, local administrations, and fatherland fronts should continue to promote people-to-people diplomacy.”

Head of the Party Central Committee’s External Relations Commission Hoang Binh Quan launched a patriotic emulation movement in the external relations sector for 2016.