Ho Chi Minh once said, "The pristine beauty of the country is achieved and celebrated thanks to the hard work of Vietnamese women of all ages." Our great leader affirmed the important role of Vietnamese women in building and developing country, which contributed significantly in the field of foreign affairs, including people-to-people diplomacy.

Imprints of female politicians

Former Foreign Minister Nguyen Thi Binh (middle) at the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement, January 17, 2023. (Photo: Nguyen Hong)

The talented, determined, brave "steel roses" of Vietnam's diplomacy have made outstanding contributions throughout the history of Vietnam, from national liberation struggle to become an unified country. In the present day, they also contribute to the national construction and defense.

There have been many outstanding female politicians, who took the leadership roles of the Party, State and National Assembly. They are the symbols and pride of Vietnamese women, who used their wisdom and enthusiasm to make great contributions to people's diplomacy.

Some of the outstanding names are President of the National Assembly, former President of the Vietnam - Cuba Friendship Association Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan; Former Politburo member, Standing Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Tong Thi Phong. There are also out Former Vice Presidents such as Nguyen Thi Dinh, Nguyen Thi Binh, Truong Thi My Hoa, Nguyen Thi Doan and Dang Thi Ngoc Thinh.

Also, there is Politburo member, Head of the Organization Committee of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Vietnam-Japan Friendship Parliamentary Association, former President of the Vietnam - Cuba Friendship Association Truong Thi Mai among other female diplomats. These role models have been, are and will continue to strongly inspire generations of Vietnamese female diplomats today and in the future.

One of them is the outstanding female diplomat, former Foreign Minister Nguyen Thi Binh. She is best known for being the Head of the delegation of Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam at the Paris Peace Conference (1969-1973).

She is the only woman who signed the Paris Agreement in 1972 on ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam. Later, she became the President of the Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizations. She is also the founder and first President of the Vietnam Peace and Development Foundation.

Nguyen Thi Binh earned her nickname "Madame Binh" for she has won the hearts of millions of people around the world with her class and boldness, making her a stunning embodiment of the traditional Vietnamese culture. It is also in the way she speaks and answers questions that shows intelligence, bravery, strong will and solid determination. She represents the Vietnamese people in the fight and sacrifice for independence, freedom and peaceful reunification of the country.

The female diplomat has granted the world's love and admiration towards Vietnamese people and helped create a revolution never been done before - a people's front against the war of aggression, support the rightful fight for the public that before.

From heart to heart

Women are an important force in people's diplomacy with their collective strength such as sensitivity, dynamism, creativity, sophistication and the ability to sympathize. These are the qualities much needed in the progress of Vietnam's industrialization, modernization and international integration.

President of Viet Nam Union of Friendship Organizarions Nguyen Phuong Nga

The female force are continuing to uphold the traditions of the previous generations, trying to strengthen and expand the network of friends and partners, taking avantages of international solidarity support for the cause of national development. and defense in a timely, sustainably and firmly manner.

People's diplomacy is an open, voluntary forum that connects people "from heart to heart", so it gathers a large number of enthusiastic representatives from all walks of life.

Within the member organizations of the VUFO system - the core force of people-to-people diplomacy, women are accounted for an increasing proportion, playing an important role to the success of people's foreign affairs activities.

Many presidents and leaders at center-leveled and provincial fiendship organizations are female. There are alos many female professors, intellectuals, artists, and businessmen who actively contributed to people-to-people diplomacy using their own expertise.

A great number of former female Ambassadors still enthusiastically participated in the activities of people's friendship organizations after they retired. They continued to devote themselves to the work of foreign affairs, like Ton Nu Thi Ninh, Nguyen Thi Hoi, Dinh Thi Minh Huyen, Phan Thuy Thanh and Luan Thuy Duong.

They are the big sisters who not only share invaluable experiences and connections between generations of diplomats, but also are examples of dedication passion for the profession and sense of responsibility, honorable characteristics of those who represented the nation in foreign countries.

At the standing office of VUFO, nearly 70% of officials and civil servants are female. There are an female Ambassador, female Head of the Vietnamese representative mission abroad, two female Department Head, and six female Deputy Heads.

There are many difficulties like frequent business trips, no holidays, overtime to overcome when doing their jobs, yet the women still made great efforts to fulfill their roles of mothers, wifes, and children and, at the same time, complete their assigned tasks for the sake of the homeland.

In addition, the women at VUFO also had many innovations, creatively, successfully organized many peace, solidarity and friendship exchange activities to celebrate major holidays in the relationship between Vietnam and other countries. They help strengthen cooperation with foreign non-governmental organizations, mobilize and effectively use aid sources for Vietnam, and promote the image of Vietnam.

There are significant contributions made by women to realize the success of major activities within the framework of recent high-level foreign activities, such as the Vietnam - Laos Friendship Year celebration, the Vietnam - Cambodia Friendship Year celebration, the Vietnam - China people's forums, The 22nd World Peace Council Congress, the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Paris Agreement.

At the standing office of VUFO, nearly 70% of officials and civil servants are female (Photo: Thu Ha).

The 13th Party Congress emphasized the task of building a comprehensive and modern Vietnamese diplomacy with three distinct pillars: Party diplomacy, State diplomacy, and People-to-people diplomacy.

For the last pillar, Directive 12-CT/TW dated February 5, 2022 of the Secretariat on strengthening the leadership of the Party and improving the effectiveness of people-to-people diplomacy in the new situation has affirmed its role and task in building a positive and favorable social foundation, strengthening and consolidating friendly relations, and improving the efficiency of cooperation with the peoples of other countries.

To further promote the role of women in people-to-people diplomacy, VUFO will continue to cooperate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Women's Union, ministries, branches, localities and organizations of United Nations and international partners in promoting gender equality and women's empowerment. VUFO will also work on raising awareness in society about the role of women in general and in the field of foreign affairs in particular.

At the same time, VUFO focuses on training, fostering and enhancing women's capacity in both foreign knowledge and skills, especially languages, history, cultures of ethnic groups, according to the agendas of the United Nations such as women, peace and security, and building a culture of peace.

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