Vietnam-Brazil People-to-people Diplomacy to Enter New Stage of Development

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh meets with Brazilian President Lula Da Silva within the framework of the expanded G7 Summit in Hiroshima, Japan, on May 21, 2023. Photo: VGP

On the occasion of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's visit to Brazil, President of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations Phan Anh Son shared about Vietnam-Brazil people-to-people diplomatic activities.

Three main areas of cooperation through people-to-people diplomacy

What are some general and outstanding features of people-to-people diplomacy activities between Vietnam and Brazil deployed by the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations in recent times?

Vietnam and Brazil officially established diplomatic relations in 1989. In recent years, Vietnam-Brazil people-to-people diplomacy has been implemented through many channels, by different units and organizations.

The Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations and the Vietnam-Brazil Friendship and Cooperation Association play a pivotal role in maintaining and developing the traditional friendship between the two peoples.

Since 2010, the two sides coordinated to organize many activities diverse in form and rich in content, including seven delegations exchanging between the two sides (The Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations and the Vietnam-Brazil Friendship and Cooperation Association sent four delegations to visit Brazil and welcomed 3 Brazilian delegations to visit Vietnam).

We also organized 3 Vietnam-Brazil friendship meetings, 4 international conferences, and seminars, and released 3 propaganda publications.

Currently, three main areas of cooperation are deployed through people-to-people diplomacy channels including spreading information, language exchange, and business connection.

Regarding information exchange, news about Vietnam-Brazil people-to-people diplomacy activities is regularly published in the media.

On the Brazilian side, the Brazil-Vietnam Friendship Association (ABRAVIET) also pays great attention to promoting Vietnam's image in Brazil through publishing books about President Ho Chi Minh, articles on the association's website, and organizing seminars about Vietnamese culture.

They share information about politics, security, and defense, support economic and trade cooperation activities, and connect Vietnam with partners in Brazil in the fields of sports and education.

Despite being geographically far apart and facing major language barriers, Vietnam-Brazil people-to-people diplomacy had rich and diverse activities.

This preserved and developed the valuable traditional friendship between the two peoples, promoting cooperation for the benefit of the two peoples, including students, workers, and businesses.

President of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations Phan Anh Son.

Promote cooperation in potential fields

How will the focuses and key points that need to be prioritized in people-to-people diplomacy activities between Vietnam and Brazil be implemented in the coming time?

We always encourage the promotion of Vietnam-Brazil people-to-people cooperation initiatives in many fields.

However, I think that the foreign affairs of the people of Vietnam and Brazil need to focus more strongly on a number of potential areas, such as trade cooperation, educational exchange, and promotion of culture, arts, and sports through people-to-people exchanges.

Brazil has many prestigious universities (the University of Sao Paulo ranks 47th in the world for the number of cited studies, its agriculture department, and microbiology department are all in the top 20 in the world).

Vietnam's universities are also transforming strongly and attracting more international students. This will also be an area where people-to-people diplomacy has the conditions and potential to promote effectiveness.

It helps Vietnamese students have more opportunities to study in Brazil and attracts Brazilian students to study at Vietnamese universities.

Student exchanges will play an important role in educating the younger generation about the relationship between the two countries, creating a bridge for other areas of bilateral cooperation.

Culture, arts, sports, and tourism are the fields that most easily connect people.

In this field, both Vietnam and Brazil have their own strengths. For Brazil, it's Samba and football (in Vietnam, the Brazilian national football team has a large number of fans).

For Vietnam, it's ao dai, pho, and coffee. In the coming time, the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations and the Brazil-Vietnam Friendship Association hope to promote the strengths and flexibility of people-to-people diplomacy to foster cooperation in these fields.

Vietnam-Brazil people-to-people diplomacy has room for development

What are the prospects for cooperation between Vietnam and Brazil, and in people-to-people diplomacy activities between the two countries particularly after the Prime Minister's visit?

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh's official visit to Brazil in September 2023 is the first high-level visit since President Lula da Silva's official visit to Vietnam in 2008.

I believe that, after this visit, the relationship between Vietnam and Brazil will have strong development momentum. The two countries will expand economic, trade, defense, and security cooperation, and boost cooperation in education, sports and culture.

I expect that the two sides will have initiatives to promote other potential areas of cooperation such as digital transformation, clean energy, and high-tech agriculture between the two countries. The two sides will also cooperate more closely in multilateral mechanisms and international organizations for the benefit of the two peoples, world peace, stability, and development.

During the Prime Minister's official visit to Brazil, many cooperation agreements are expected to be signed, including the Vietnam-Brazil education cooperation agreement.

According to ABRAVIET's assessment, this will open up opportunities for the people of Vietnam and Brazil to organize educational and cultural exchange activities. This is the foundation for people-to-people exchanges and mutual understanding.

Vietnam-Brazil people-to-people diplomatic activities still have a lot of potential and room for development. I believe that after this visit, there will be more connections between localities, departments, branches, organizations, businesses, schools, and research institutes, as well as between social organizations of the two countries.

With the attention of the leaders of the two countries, I believe that people-to-people diplomacy will mobilize the participation of a large number of people.

This helps deploy good initiatives and ideas to connect the people of the two countries, attracting interest, the desire to participate and contribute from young people, and students of Vietnam and Brazil.

Vietnam-Brazil people-to-people diplomacy will enter a new stage of development.

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