(VOVWORLD) - An international conference titled "50 years of National Reunification: the role of diplomacy in peacebuilding in the past and present" was held in Hanoi on Wednesday. 500 domestic and foreign delegates attended the event, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
 President Luong Cuong addresses the event. (Photo: Viet Cuong) |
In his remarks, President Luong Cuong affirmed the role of the Vietnamese diplomacy in peacebuilding throughout Vietnam’s history, particularly during the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, which led to national reunification on April 30, 1975.
“The contemporary relevance of the ‘Vietnam story’ continues to shine, embodying the noble values of the journey toward lasting peace, dialogue, healing the wounds of war, national reconciliation, reconstruction, and development. The world is undergoing historic changes. Vietnam is fully aware that the future and destiny of the nation are closely linked to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the world. Entering a new era of national rise, Vietnam stands ready to proactively contribute to global politics and economy, and the advancement of human civilization,” President Luong Cuong said.
On behalf of the Party and State leadership, the President expressed gratitude to the progressive peoples around the world, including the Americans, who stood in solidarity with the Vietnamese people in the struggle for peace, justice, and the truth that "nothing is more precious than independence and freedom."
At the conference, international friends, diplomats, and scholars affirmed that the historic victory of April 30, 1975, and Vietnam’s vigorous post-war recovery became exemplary models of peace, reconstruction, and development, and the spirit of moving beyond the past and embracing the future, enrooted from its culture of peace, tolerance, and humanity.
 Participants clap their hands at the conference (Photo: Viet Cuong) |
Professor Wang Chong, Honorary Professor at Zhejiang International Studies University and Deputy Secretary-General of the Charhar Institute, China, praised Vietnam's bamboo diplomacy. “Vietnam’s diplomacy principle is flexible, just like a bamboo. Your bamboo diplomacy impresses us a lot. I’m impressed by this combination that helps Vietnam handle relationships very skillfully, maintaining its own interests and ensuring relations with the great powers. Many countries have suffered the consequences of war and division, but Vietnam has succeeded in telling its own story, which is a story of peace.”
John McAuliff, Executive Director of the US Fund for Reconciliation and Development, was an activist in the anti-war movement in the late 1960s and has visited Vietnam many times. He said Vietnam has a unique position. "It’s trusted by people who hate each other, have very warm relations with Vietnam. It’s respected by what we used to call the Global South in part because of its achievements against the US, when the US was powerful, but also because of its economic transformation.”
Many American friends who have worked for decades to mend relations with Vietnam, such as Lady Borton, her Vietnamese name is Út Lý, and Tim Rieser, senior foreign policy aide to former Senator Patrick Leahy, said that their love and support for Vietnam remain unchanged and that they will continue working to advance friendship and cooperation.