Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong (standing) speaks at the meeting with the new heads of Vietnam’s overseas representative agencies for 2019-2022 on October 4 Photo: VNA

Wishing the 21 diplomats a successful term, Phong expressed his hope that they will be dynamic ambassadors helping to popularise HCM City’s image as a friendly and liveable destination among foreigners.

He pledged that the city will always listen to and be a firm support for the overseas representative agencies to fulfill their assigned tasks, thus helping with national development.

The official stressed external work plays a crucial role in attracting and optimising external resources in terms of capital, knowledge and technology for developing the city into a modern, sustainable and liveable place for all people.

Over the past years, HCM City has carried out external work via all channels of the Party, administration and people, and in the pillars of politics, economy, culture, people-to-people diplomacy.

The work has helped not only promote the role, stature and socio-economic development of HCM City but also realise the Party and State’s foreign policy and greatly contribute to raising Vietnam’s prestige and standing in the international arena, Phong said.

On behalf of the diplomats, Pham Sao Mai, Director of the Foreign Ministry’s Northeast Asia Department and Ambassador to China, said overseas representative agencies of Vietnam always pay attention to information about HCM City and also believe in the city’s dynamism and creativity.

HCM City holds huge potential for developing its relations with international partners to serve local development, he noted.

At the meeting, the diplomats learned about the potential for cooperation between HCM City and the countries and territories they are about to assume their posts.

So far, the city has set up friendship and cooperative ties with 54 foreign localities across the five continents. It has also had close cooperation with international organisations like the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the German Development Bank (KfW).

In 2018, it attracted over 7 billion USD of foreign investment, accounting for 22 percent of the total foreign capital poured into Vietnam then. The city is currently home to 7,948 projects invested in by 106 countries and territories./.

VNF/VNA