Seminar on “Approaching the Middle East - Africa: Bright Spots and Hot Spots”

The seminar featured two distinguished speakers: Mr. Bui Ha Nam, Director of the Department of Middle East - Africa, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Mr. Vu Son Tung, Deputy Director of the Department of Middle East - Africa, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The event drew over 140 youth members and students representing various units of the Ministry and the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.

Opening the seminar, Dr. Nguyen Dong Anh, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, highly appreciated the units that supported the organization of the seminar. He emphasized that the event offered a valuable opportunity for young officials of the Ministry and students of the Diplomatic Academy to learn from the insights of the speakers, who possess years of professional experience and in-depth research on the Middle East and Africa. Dr. Nguyen noted that the seminar also provided a platform to exchange multidimensional perspectives on Africa’s potential as well as pressing issues in the Middle East.

In the first session on “The Green Transition in Africa”, Mr. Vu Son Tung observed that this is an emerging topic receiving growing attention worldwide, including in Vietnam. According to the speaker, Africa, endowed with significant natural resources, has achieved notable progress in green transition initiatives, including green hydrogen production, clean energy development, essential mineral management, and sustainable agriculture. Mr. Tung highlighted that Vietnam is actively cooperating with African countries across multiple sectors, and the green transition promises to open further opportunities for comprehensive development and collaboration between Vietnam and Africa.

The second session focused on “The History and Current Situation of the Israel-Palestine Conflict.” Mr. Bui Ha Nam provided young officials and students with valuable, carefully curated information regarding the history and origins of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the current situation in the Gaza Strip “hot spot,” and the broader implications of the conflict for regional and global peace, security, and stability. The speaker also noted that Vietnam has repeatedly articulated an appropriate stance through various channels, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson and the Vietnamese Ambassador to the United Nations, actively contributing to calls for conflict resolution and humanitarian action through both bilateral and multilateral channels.

Throughout the two discussion sessions, the speakers received numerous insightful questions from young officials of the Ministry and students of the Diplomatic Academy, reflecting a strong interest among youth in security and peace issues in the Middle East, as well as in future cooperation between Vietnam and Africa. The speakers responded with in-depth knowledge and practical experience, creating a lively, open, and intellectually rich environment for discussing international relations.

At the conclusion of the seminar, representatives of the organizing units expressed sincere gratitude to the speakers for their valuable insights into the Middle East - Africa region and Vietnam’s potential for engagement. The seminar provided young officials and students with the opportunity to further develop skills in analyzing international issues, synthesizing information, evaluating situations, and proposing policy recommendations for specific contexts.

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