Former Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan at his residence in Hanoi. (Photo: VGP)

Vu Khoan worked as Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1990 and then became Minister of Trade in 2000. He made great contributions to Vietnam’s long journey towards negotiating the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement, its accession to the ASEAN, and membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM), and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

“In every negotiating process, we always put the national interest first, with priority given to national development,” Mr. Khoan said.

Vu Khoan was a mentor of generations of Vietnamese diplomats. Former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Phu Binh said Mr. Khoan was a talented diplomat who was clear, righteous, principled, but flexible in negotiations.

Economist Pham Chi Lan remembers Vu Khoan as a master of negotiations who used language skillfully and flexibly to thaw the negotiating atmosphere. 

“That was an unforgettable trip in late 2001 when the Vietnamese delegation went to the US to finalize documents toward signing the Vietnam-US Bilateral Trade Agreement. While making a speech at a reception in Washington, then Minister of Trade Vu Khoan smiled and said that the previous night he had a dream that his American friends wore Made-in-Vietnam shirts, ate Vietnamese shrimps, and drank Vietnamese coffee and tea. Everyone in the room was amused and gave him a loud applause,” Ms. Lan recalled. 

Economist Pham Chi Lan. (Photo: VTC)

After his retirement, Vu Khoan still showed a keen interest in national development and gave profound and concrete advice to the Party and State. Up until his passing, he actively participated in conferences and symposiums to share his experience.

“The achievements of the international integration process, whether visible or invisible, are important. What are some invisible achievements? First, the social consensus on international integration. Second, our understanding of the world. In the past, our understanding of capitalism was limited due to objective conditions. But now, everyone has become a global citizen. Understanding the world is a soft power," Mr. Khoan said.

"A third achievement is Vietnam’s rising global status. Vietnam used to be known for its struggles for national independence, but now many countries consider Vietnam a trade competitor.”

Thanks to Vu Khoan’s pioneering diplomatic policies, Vietnam’s international integration and development was fostered by international organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

For his great contributions, Mr. Khoan was honored with many prestigious titles by the Vietnamese Party, State, and Government, including the first-class Independence Order, the first-class Labor Order, and the 60-year Party Membership Badge. He was also awarded the Soviet Union’s Order of Friendship of Peoples, Laos’s first-class Freedom Order, and Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun.