PEACE-SOLIDARITY-FRIENDSHIP
HAUFO - There is a woman who is always grateful for what life gives her, including opportunities to do what she loves and to live and work with excellent persons. Her involvement in diplomacy seems to have been predestined. This has been testified not only over the 30 years of her career as a diplomat, but also in her position of Secretary of the Party group of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations and the President of this Union itself. This lady is Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga.
She was once Director of the Press- Information Department of the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Spokesperson and then, the first- ever woman Deputy Minister of this body itself, and Head of the Permanent Representative Delegation of Vietnam to the UN.
Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga can make a deep impression on anyone she meets, thanks to her delicacy adorned with her refined Vietnamese traditional ao dai (long dress) and bright, warm, and friendly smile, at either work-related or casual meetings …
As the Spokesperson for the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more than two years, Nguyen Phuong Nga had participated in the development and implementation of the communication plans for major activities of the country: Vietnam’s first-time non-permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council (2008 - 2009), Vietnam’s Chairmanship over the ASEAN in 2010, the celebration of the 1000 th Anniversary of Thang Long Hanoi, the evacuation of almost 11,000 Vietnamese guest-workers from Libya, assistance to the Vietnamese expatriates in Japan in the wake of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, as well as press-communication for our senior leaders. That was also a period of constant queries by both domestic and foreign journalists at any press conferences regarding Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea and the issues of fishermen and fishing vessels. Though in her position as the Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson, she was always deeply aware of the countless contributions of other individuals and units to the related press-conferences and meetings. She also always pondered over how to ensure that the provided communication-information was prompt, accurate and did lack acumen; it must be persuasive, capable of demonstrating the legitimacy and humanity in the guidelines and policies of our Party and State, responsive to the public’s attention, as well as able to win the sympathy and support of our people and international friends.
Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga cherishes many deep memories of the time when she was the Chief Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations. In addition to the meetings and discussions on peace and security, there were so many other activities held at the initiatives of the delegations representing countries at the United Nations on the topics of development, human rights, and the enactment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with the virtuous goal of leaving no one behind and making human life ever better. Our Vietnamese delegation had numerous activities and initiatives to present to the international community not only our long tradition of fighting against invaders or our economic development but also our history and cultural values.
As the head of a people-to-people diplomatic agency, Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga is profoundly impressed by the affection of the international friends for Vietnam, and the fine examples, relentless efforts and enthusiasm of her predecessors who had laid the foundations for Vietnamese diplomacy and had it developed. The past three years of her office as head of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations have been a challenging time for herself. The world situation has been evolving complicatedly; especially the grave multi-faceted impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the task of gathering forces and promoting international cooperation. Together with the staff of the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations, she actively worked out many solutions to dealing with the circumstances and tasks to be done in accordance with the motto “Be proactive, flexible, creative and effective”. Thus, thanks to this they have gained remarkable achievements, lending our country a hand to successfully perform the “dual” task of pandemic-fighting and socio-economic development, as well as to work together with other nations around the world in the shared endeavor to check the Covid-19, to foster their mutual friendship, and to enhance the image and standing of Vietnam in the international arena.
Nguyen Phuong Nga earnestly wishes to consolidate the people-to-people foreign affairs sector, in terms of both the organization and staff to ensure it can work efficiently and professionally, and be rejuvenated when necessary. Such a task should attach special importance to training the personnel in people-to-people diplomacy and raising their quality. The trained staff is expected to possess a firm political will, to be highly responsible, specialist in specific areas and in foreign languages, have professional expertise in foreign affairs and can meet the requirements of the new time. She hopes to establish an effective mechanism for regular and close coordination of people-to-people diplomacy with those of the Party and State to facilitate the process of consultancy, formulating guidelines and policies on foreign affairs and carrying out foreign-related activities. Furthermore, it is necessary to strengthen the cohesion of the forces involved in people-to-people diplomacy inside people’s organizations, and to promote the key roles of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations therein.
