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| Tourists experience a cyclo ride around Hoan Kiem Lake (Photo: VNA) |
Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam aims to rank among the top three ASEAN countries and the world’s top 30 in the Soft Power Index by 2045, while becoming an attractive destination for tourism, investment, innovation and international cultural exchange, supporting its goal of becoming a developed, high-income nation.
The target is set out in the Government’s strategy to promote Vietnam’s global image for the 2026–2030 period, with a vision to 2045, approved by the Prime Minister on January 27. The strategy underlines that promoting Vietnam's image abroad is not merely information activities, but a strategic "soft" tool serving the country's development.
According to the Department of Grassroots and External Information under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, a major new element of the strategy is the first-time requirement to develop a unified national message and visual identity at a strategic level. This will serve as a consistent foundation for all overseas communication and promotion efforts.
Vietnam’s image will no longer be presented in a fragmented or sector-by-sector manner by individual agencies, but instead positioned in a coherent and comprehensive way. At the same time, it will remain flexible enough to adapt to different markets, regions and international audiences.
The strategy seeks to build and spread the image of Vietnam as a country with political stability, dynamic economy, rich cultural identity, strong aspirations for innovation, and an appealing investment and business environment. It also aims to portray Vietnam as a safe and friendly destination, as well as a reliable and responsible partner in the international community.
Vietnamese people are identified as the central focus of the national image strategy. They are described as modern yet deeply rooted in tradition, creative yet humane, and globally integrated while preserving national cultural identity.
The document highlights the need to renew communication methods towards greater professionalism and modernity, in line with international standards. Communication content must be accurate, objective, engaging and diverse in format, while being tailored to specific target audiences.
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| Hoi An ancient town attracts large numbers of visitors (Photo: VNA) |
A balanced combination of traditional media and digital platforms, together with direct and online promotion, is seen as the main approach to expanding outreach and enhancing Vietnam’s presence across cross-border platforms.
The strategy also places strong emphasis on applying advances in digital technology, big data and artificial intelligence throughout the communication process, from audience research and message development to content production, distribution and impact measurement. The establishment of a national digital communication ecosystem is considered a breakthrough solution to strengthen proactive capacity, adaptability and the long-term effectiveness of Vietnam’s overseas image promotion.
Another key aspect is encouraging the involvement of the entire society in promoting the national image. Alongside Party and State agencies, businesses, intellectuals, artists, the creative community, and particularly overseas Vietnamese are encouraged to contribute to spreading Vietnam’s image through their experiences and credibility.
The strategy further identifies investment in human resources for national image communication as a decisive factor, aiming to build a team of communicators with international skills, digital expertise and multilingual capacity to meet increasing demands in the new era./.
