Overview of the Meeting (Photo: TITC)

Attending the Meeting were MOCST’s Deputy Minister Ho An Phong; representatives of the leaders of the Departments, Divisions and units under the Ministry. On the side of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there were Deputy Minister Pham Thanh Binh, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to China, head of the delegation, along with Ambassadors and Consuls General of countries in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Australia.

"bright spots" in the fields of culture, sports and tourism

Sharing about the achievements of the Culture, Sports and Tourism sector in recent times, MOCST’s Minister Nguyen Van Hung said, in the past time, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has signed 02 international agreements on behalf of the Government, 09 international agreements on behalf of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; units under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism have signed 19 international cooperation documents with partners. Including the content of cooperation, cooperation objects and cooperation products and adheres to this roadmap for organization" - said Minister Nguyen Van Hung.

MOCST’s Minister Nguyen Van Hung speaking at the Meeting (Photo: TITC)

The above success is impossible without the coordination between the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, diplomatic missions abroad through the Embassies. The close coordination is also demonstrated through business trips, work programs, etc., bringing high efficiency.

Cultural activities have achieved the dual effect of enriching the content of the trip and inheriting the tradition of our ancestors, which is "culture goes first", thereby helping international friends understand more about the advanced Vietnamese culture with strong national identity.

Leaders of Departments, Divisions and units under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism attending the meeting (Photo: TITC)

In addition, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has maintained annual activities of Cultural Week and Vietnamese Cultural Day in key areas.

“One of the highlights of the past year was that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism organized for the first time a tourism and film promotion program in Hollywood, USA. The US and the world's elite filmmakers have highly appreciated this event, thereby signing agreements with many localities. According to the data we have, at least 5 international film crews will come to Vietnam," the Minister said.

After the first National Conference on the Development of Vietnam’s Cultural Industries chaired by the Prime Minister, the fields of cultural tourism, cinema, and performing arts have developed positively. This has brought a sense of pride to the people. Citing the example of the Blackpink concert in Vietnam in 2023, Minister Nguyen Van Hung said that in 2024, two shows by “Anh trai say hi” and “Anh trai vuon ngan chong gai” drew huge attention from audiences. This is a testament to the soft power of Vietnamese culture.

Ambassadors and Consuls General at the Meeting (Photo: TITC)

The establishments of Vietnamese cultural centers abroad will continue to promote the presence of Vietnamese culture, and at the same time become a common home for overseas Vietnamese. International organisations also recognized and appreciated Vietnam's presence and participation. "Recently, we created a big buzz when we coordinated with the United Nations Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) to organize the First UN Tourism Conference on Tourism for Rural Development in Quang Nam with more than 300 international delegates from more than 50 countries attending. Through the event, it can be said that we are on the right track" - said the Minister.

Cultural diplomacy is always an activity that Vietnamese diplomatic agencies abroad pay attention to and focus on

Congratulating the achievements of the Culture, Sports and Tourism sector in recent times, Mr. Pham Thanh Binh, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to China, head of the delegation said, ambassadors are always aware of their responsibilities, in which cultural diplomacy is always focused. In recent times, cultural diplomacy has had clear changes, especially in thinking and coordination of activities to implement events.

Mr. Pham Thanh Binh, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to China, head of the delegation at the Meeting (Photo: TITC)

Coordination between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will be very important. Therefore, in the coming time, the two Ministries will cooperate more actively so that cultural diplomacy activities will develop in greater results.

Ambassadors and Consuls General speaking at the meeting (Photo: TITC)

Sharing about the tourism sector, Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Ho An Phong said that in 2024, Vietnam Tourism welcomed over 17 million international visitor arrivals, completing the target set at the beginning of the year. This is truly an impressive growth figure. In 2025, the tourism industry aims to welcome 20 - 23 million international visitor arrivals.

One of the key tasks of the tourism industry in 2025 is to successfully organize the National Tourism Year - Hue and Hue Festival. At the same time, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is expected to organize tourism promotion programs in a number of European countries.

MOCST’s Deputy Minister Ho An Phong speaking at the Meeting (Photo: TITC)

Promote diplomatic and cultural coordination to actively promote the beautiful image of Vietnam to international friends

Minister Nguyen Van Hung suggested that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sign a cooperation agreement in early 2025 to actively implement cultural diplomacy activities. Also next year, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will continue to focus on key activities. Among them, it will participate in the World Exhibition EXPO 2025 Osaka, Kansai in Japan.

MOCST’s Minister Nguyen Van Hung gifting souvenir to Ambassadors and Consuls General (Photo: TITC)

The industry will focus its efforts on participating in the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand. The event is not only important in terms of expertise, but also an opportunity to demonstrate Vietnam's responsibility in the ASEAN community, in which each athlete will be a cultural ambassador.

In addition, a number of Vietnamese Cultural Days and Cultural Weeks will be organized in a number of countries. At the same time, the Ministry will complete projects to establish Vietnamese cultural centers abroad to report to competent authorities.

The Minister also said that in the coming time, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will complete the heritage digitization project. With the completion of the above project, the transfer of publications and tourism promotion products will be very convenient. The Minister asked the Ambassadors to propose the Government to continue improving visa policies, facilitating tourists' travel, establishing direct flights to stimulate tourism, and at the same time hoping that the Ambassadors will perform the smallest tasks with the greatest love, to complete the assigned tasks, including contributing to spreading Vietnamese culture to the world.

Leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Ambassadors and Consuls General taking souvenir photo at the headquarters of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Photo: TITC)

“The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will always accompany you in the goal of introducing the image of a beautiful, friendly and peaceful Vietnam to international friends.”, stressed MOCST’s Minister Nguyen Van Hung 

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