Love, compassion build connections

Since he took office on March 2, 2023, State President Vo Van Thuong has delicately, impressively and sincerely spread the spirit of solidarity and international cooperation throughout his domestic and foreign activities.

Solidarity – a permanent feature of Vietnamese revolution

Great national solidarity is a precious tradition, and an important and permanent strategy of the Party, as well as a great source of strength and a decisive factor in the cause of the construction and defence of the Motherland.  This has been clarified in the Resolution of the eighth session of the 13th Party Central Committee on continuing promoting the tradition and the great national solidarity and building a prosperous and happy nation.

Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, a theorist with a profound vision of the great national solidarity, wrote in his article entitled “Promoting the tradition of great national solidarity in building our prosperous, civilised and happy nation” the line: “Solidarity is an extremely valuable tradition of our nation, a source of strength for our nation to forever endure and develop, a permanent guideline, and a strategic policy of vital significance to the revolution of Vietnam."

Following this, President Thuong has repeatedly underlined that the priceless asset and the enormous strength for Vietnamese people to overcome all difficulties and hardships stem from the spirit of patriotism, the strength of great national solidarity, strong will and courage, determination, self-reliance, and an ardent desire for independence, freedom, peace, and happiness. These noble values have been nurtured, reinforced, preserved, and promoted through the thousands of years of the history of building and defending the country of the Vietnamese people.

Solidarity for ironing out differences

The State leader has brought the story and lessons of solidarity and international cooperation to international forums with scientific arguments and specific evidence through fluctuations in the regional and world situation.

He highlighted that solidarity enables all to develop and move forwards together, while division leads to no development but sets back the achievements of the region and the world.

The reality has proved that in the world, countries with solidarity have secured peace and development and, on the contrary, those that are divided have suffered instability and slow development. Where there is solidarity, there is peace, stability, cooperation and development, but where it is absent, "gunshots are still sounding and blood still shedding", and prosperity and happiness of the people are just an unrealistic wish.

Calling for solidarity to iron out differences at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in San Francisco, the US, the State leader underlined: “I hope all APEC members will uphold the spirit of cooperation, responsibility, promoting multilateralism, putting aside differences to jointly solve difficulties and overcome challenges for peace, cooperation, and development in the region and the world. Vietnam is ready to join other APEC members and the Asia-Pacific business community in building a bright future for all people.”

Spreading the noble humanistic values of great national solidarity, in meetings with state leaders and international friends, President Thuong told them about the Vietnam’s history of struggle for independence, highlighting that the strength for Vietnam to overcome all hardships is the great righteousness and humanity of a nation that always loves peace and is friendly to and respectful of other nations.

Stressing that “many hands make work lighter”, he underlined that in the path ahead, Vietnam will consistently implement its foreign policy in the spirit of international solidarity, which is being a friend, a reliable partner, and an active and responsible member of the international community.

Homeland full of warm sunshine

In all of his six trips to eight countries last year, the first activity that the State leader conducted was always visiting the Vietnamese community and diplomatic representative offices, in which he affirmed the community as an inseparable part of the nation and called for joint efforts in building and developing the nation. The meetings left strong feelings to overseas Vietnamese, bringing to them the warmth from the homeland and inspiring the national pride among them.

Sharing his feeling about President Thuong’s meeting with the Vietnamese community in Austria in July 2023, Ambassador Nguyen Trung Kien said that not only spreading warmth from the homeland, the State leader also sent out an important message of the great national solidarity spirit to the community, arousing their patriotism, driving them towards the Fatherland, and encouraging them to spread the good traditions of the nation.

Showing a piece of paper with a poem written in the traditional calligraphy style of Vietnam, Thich Tam Tri, head monk of Dai An Honjo in Saitama, Japan, said that it is a special gift to welcome the President to Japan in late November 2023.

From the perspective of a Doctor of Buddhist Philosophy, the nun, who joined a meeting between the President and Vietnamese intellectuals in Japan, said that the State leader’s conversation corresponds to three concepts in Buddhist philosophy, namely filial piety, kindness, and gratefulness. She expressed her hope that Vietnamese people abroad will turn their head and mind to the homeland and maintain their solidarity and mutual support.

Spreading compassion

To build great national solidarity, each community, village, ethnic group, and religion must secure internal solidarity and stay united with one another as well as the Vietnamese community abroad. The solidarity between the Vietnamese people and other progressive and peace-loving people around the world is also crucial to creating a favourable environment for the national development, stated President Thuong while talking about solidarity at meetings with intellectuals inside and outside the country as well as religions and ethnic groups.

In his first year in office, President Thuong visited and attended a flag hoisting ceremony on Phu Quy island in Binh Thuan and Co To island in Quang Ninh, and offered incense to heroic martyrs, revolutionaries and people who died for the nation in Con Dao.

In 2023, President Thuong honoured outstanding figures in patriotism emulation movements and the campaign to study and follow President Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, moral example and lifestyle as well as role models in various fields. He sent greeting cards to 8,735 senior citizens aged from 100 years old, showing the tradition of respecting the elderly.

The presence of the State President in places that he visited greatly inspires patriotism and national pride among officials, Party members and local residents. His words of encouragement show the attention and the warm sentiments of leaders of the Party and State to the people from all walks of life.

“We should be connected with one another by love and compassion, joining hands together in building a community of solidarity, a society of progress and civilisation filled with love,” stated President Thuong, who is the Honourable President of the Vietnam Red Cross Society, at the launching ceremony of the National Humanitarian Month in April 2023, sending out a message of great national solidarity and the tradition of “like a cover of leaves, the well-off will help out the poor” and "loving others like loving yourself”.

In November 2023, President Thuong joined locals in the south-central province of Phu Yen in the Great National Solidarity Festival. In a conversation with local residents, the State leader affirmed that thanks to the great national solidarity, the Party, people and the whole army have managed to implement the “Doi Moi” (Renewal) cause, overcoming difficulties and challenges to achieve great successes with historical meaning, enabling Vietnam to enjoy such fortune, strength, international standing, and prestige today like never before.