As one of the typical collectives nominated for honor at the 2026 Glory of Vietnam program, the Foreign Policy Department - Ministry of Foreign Affairs is not only recognized for its outstanding professional achievements but also for the imprint of nearly 50 years of persistent advising, planning and implementing the Party and State's foreign policy guidelines.
Sharing with Lao Dong Newspaper, Director of the Foreign Policy Department Le Dinh Tinh said that this is a great joy, honor and pride for the collective of officials of the unit because Vinh quang Vietnam is a national award, with great impact and spread in society.
Being honored is a motivation for the unit to continue to improve the quality of research and advice, meeting increasingly high requirements in the new context, and is a meaningful milestone before the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Department of Foreign Policy in 2027.
Formerly the General Sub-Committee, established in 1977, the Foreign Policy Department has become the strategic advisory body of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, proposing many important foreign policies.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the unit participated in building relations with countries, proposing solutions to break the siege and embargo, and advising on foreign policy lines during the Doi Moi period.
Another prominent milestone is the fact that the Foreign Policy Department presided over the preparation of content for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to advise the Politburo to issue Resolution No. 13 (May 1988) which emphasized the policy of "add friends, reduce enemies", diversifying foreign relations, opening up an important shift in Vietnam's thinking and foreign policy.
Through development stages, the Department of Foreign Policy continues to participate in building foreign affairs content in Party Congress documents, many important resolutions of the Central Government and the Politburo on international integration, most notably Resolution No. 59-NQ/TW dated January 25, 2025 of the Politburo (XIII term) on international integration in the new situation.
Not only advising on policies, the Foreign Policy Department also directly presides over the development of many large and important reports on major foreign affairs issues, contributing to maintaining a peaceful environment.
The workload undertaken by the Foreign Policy Department is very large. In just about 15 years, from 2011 to 2026, the unit has chaired the development of more than 100 major reports submitted to the Politburo and the Central Executive Committee; developed more than 70 reports to serve monthly meetings of key leaders; more than 150 periodic reports submitted to the Prime Minister; 15 reports from the Government submitted to the National Assembly on the world situation and foreign affairs; and more than 100 reports to serve internal affairs meetings.
In parallel with that, the Foreign Policy Department also chaired the development of more than 120 specialized reports on foreign affairs issues; prepared content for more than 1,000 bilateral contacts of key Vietnamese leaders with heads of state, leaders of countries and international organizations; more than 680 meetings of the Minister of Foreign Affairs with international partners...
The persistent contributions of the Foreign Policy Department have been recognized by the Party and State with many noble awards such as the First, Second, and Third-class Labor Medals; the Third-class Labor Medal of the Lao People's Democratic Republic; many Emulation Flags of the Government, Certificates of Merit from the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Entering a new stage of national development, when foreign affairs are identified as a "key and regular" task, the Department of Foreign Policy is determined to continue to contribute more and more effectively to the cause of building, developing and protecting the Vietnamese Fatherland in the new era.
