(VOVworld) – People-to-people diplomacy played a key role in national construction and defense in 2014, especially in protecting Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea, said chairman of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations Vu Xuan Hong. At a Tuesday meeting of the organization’s executive board in Hanoi, Vu Xuan Hong said: "People-to-people diplomacy helped to protect our national sovereignty when China illegally placed its oil rig Haiyang Shiyou 981 in our exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. International friends have continued to support us in this issue."
The meeting set out important tasks for the organization in 2015 which focus on consolidating and expanding Vietnam’s networks with international friends and partners, deepening its engagement in important multilateral institutions, and improving the quality of research and consultative activities regarding foreign information.