“People of Iran and Vietnam Don’t Know Each Other Well,” Believes Vietnam’s Ambassador

After 4 decades of political ties, Iran and Vietnam have not managed to make the most of the existing potentials between them. Whereas Thailand’s tourism has long been known for Iranian tourists, Vietnam, too, enjoys vast potentials investing in which can depict brand new horizons in the relations between the two countries. Hanoi’s Central Government, of course, has enhanced the speed of nurturing the ties with Iran by appointing a new ambassador to Tehran. To win a better understanding of the new developments between the two countries, we held an interview with Vietnam’s Ambassador in Iran, Mr. Nguyen Hong Thach.

AVA Diplomatic’s Exclusive Interview with

Mr. Nguyen Hong Thach, Vietnam’s Ambassador in Iran

Interview by Mohammadreza Nazari

 Where were you born? What did you study?

I was born in Ninh Binh which is located 100 km Southeast of Vietnam’s capital, Hanoi. I’m currently 51. When I was 5, my family moved to Hanoi where I started my education. Later, I was sent by the government to the Soviet Union for higher education as I got a high score for university entry exams. In the former Soviet Union, I studied international relations at a prestigious university college, named by MGIMO in Russian. This was a training center for the socialist bloc countries’ diplomats. At the moment in Tehran there 4 ambassadors graduated from that institute.

After that, I returned to Hanoi and worked for 5 years as a journalist in our Foreign Ministry journal named “International Affairs” before I got a scholarship to study in Australia for my Master degree at the Australian National University. Right after Master degree I got another scholarship to continue my studies on the level of Ph.D. I, however, feel proud, because my scholarship was not state-fund and I received it from the University of New South Wales, and that’s why I had to compete with other Australian as well as foreign students, and eventually received my Ph.D in the year 2000. I studied international relations all my life.

Given the fact that your father was also a diplomat, were your educational tendencies affected in any way?

My father was both a diplomat and a soldier who emphasized discipline to a great extent. When I was a child, he was very strict and that really helped me progress later. He’s not among us anymore, however.

My father had friendly connections with everyone. He was very kind to people though he demanded discipline. In fact, his humility affected me much more than his diplomatic career.

Before coming to Iran, you were in the United States. Considering the long-existing tensions between Vietnam and the US, how did you find your time there?

I was in Washington since early 2007 till mid-2010 as Counselor in our Embassy. To the issue of the ties between Vietnam and the US, I should point out that the people of Vietnam are always futuristic and are not prisoners of the past. It’s been years since the war between the two countries ended. Our ties have been normalized and we think of improving them even more. We aren’t, in fact, stuck in the past and do think of the future.

Since 1995, the relations have gone normalized between the two countries and that’s why I had no specific problem during my time there. My duty was to promote the economic ties and I had a fine period of my life there. I’m still in contact with my American friends and they do know I’m here as Ambassador and that’s really interesting for them, too.

They very much wish for me to be successful in this position, for they, too, like to have friendly ties with Iran, just like those they have with Vietnam.

As you know, President Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro announced after years that the two countries started normalizing their relations. On my Facebook, I mentioned that and some Iranian friends of mine stated that they like to have normalized relations with the US, just like Cuba.

Although the diplomatic grounds between the US and Cuba have enhanced, sanctions are still on against Cuba. The US officials also announced that the revival of ties with Cuba is the best chance for implementing political modifications. Why should Iran follow on Cuba’s footsteps then?

That’s a long process and ties cannot be normalized all at once. Mr. the first group of diplomats were sent to Cuba to further discuss the details. Such things should happen step by step so as to be normalized, and sanctions cannot be lifted all of a sudden with embassies reopened all along.

The other thing is that after the statement of President Obama, some US Congressmen harshly opposed him which could lead to a few obstacles in the way of the normalizations.

You mentioned in your question that the US seeks to change the regime by reestablishing ties with Cuba. True that the US and Cuba possess widely different political systems, but the mere fact that the US wants relations with Cuba and to open embassies means that it respects the current regime of Cuba.

Some might oppose Cuba’s present regime, but that the US states tends to normalize ties with Cuba means it respects the Cuban system. From there on, Cuban leaders know that the US may have such intentions, but they accepted the normalization statement anyway.

At the time of the Cold War, too, there were some cases where the US wasn’t in favor of the ruling systems in the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, China and even Vietnam but maintained diplomatic ties, nevertheless.

Do you have any memories which has affected your viewpoint toward the United States’ image?

There are many memories, but one is very fresh for my view of America today. In 2001, when the Twin Towers were assaulted, I was in South Africa. I recall I was in Pretoria and was surprised to see a series of tanks dispatched before the US Embassy. But when I watched the news on the CNN, I understood what had taken place. Right from there, I went to Angola, Tanzania, Sudan and Egypt and surprisingly enough, became really sorry to see that people were rejoicing happily because of the assault.

That was a complex feeling. On the one hand, I think people should not cherish the death of innocent humans in another country. But on the other hand, I think the US should investigate the reasons for such reactions. Why ordinary people in so many countries felt happy with American losses? Those people do not like, if not to say hate, the U.S. foreign policy.

At the moment, negotiations are taking place between Iran and the US, and the Republicans who managed to make their way into the Congress have announced that they shall pass new sanction bills against Iran, while we know new sanctions could widely challenge the nuclear talks. Considering your stint in the US and familiarity with its political environment, what possible impacts would you believe the Republicans’ policies will have on the negotiations?

True that some US authorities have said that they will impose new sanctions against Iran, but Mr. John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, have announced that these sanctions will negatively impact the talks.

The important thing here is that the notions vary among the US officials now compared to the past. At Mr. Bush’s time, Iran was called “the Axis of Evil”, while now Mr. Obama considers Iran to be a solution rather than a problem.

The other point is the US and the West both need Iran’s aid to fight the ISIS, and although Iran may not be part of the anti-ISIS coalition lead by the U.S., its help can be of great significance.

But let’s get back to your question about the nuclear talks. Iran and P5+1 have all voiced their heartfelt request to solve this case. The main discussion is to hammer out the details and frameworks of the solution and I hope for both sides to achieve a diplomatic solution.

Iranian leaders stated in numerous cases that Iran’s nuclear program is solely peaceful and Iran is after industrial fruits in it. The US and the West also agree for an Iranian nuclear program if it is peaceful. So the two sides agree on the principal thing – peaceful nuclear program. I hope the two sides can agree on a mechanism to assure the Iranian nuclear program peaceful and there will be a happy ending. All of them are in search of a win-win agreement and none of them wants to lose.

But in order to achieve that happy ending, both sides should maintain the good will. Any new sanctions surely will kill the talks.

You studied international relations in Moscow and that makes you aware of Russia’s political atmosphere. Following the heightening of tensions between Russia and the US, what would the oil war sparked off by Saudi Arabia, on the US’ behalf, against the economy of Russia and Iran lead to?

I follow the latest on oil issues all the times. The drop in the price of oil has both political and economic reasons. Politically, Saudi Arabia is thought to have it in mind to impact the nuclear talks between Iran and the West by lowering the oil price and also to decrease Russia’s power. Economically, it wants to empower the crude oil producers in the Middle East against the producers of shale oil in America and elsewhere.

The price fall, however, can be carried out to a certain limit. It can contribute to the West’s confrontation with Russia and to the nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 to some extent, for in the case of extensive drop in the price, Middle East oil producers will be heavily damaged, too. After all no one either in Middle East or in other places can dictate the game between superpowers, but the superpowers themselves will do it.

How do you view the Russia comes out of the oil price crisis and confrontation with the West?

Russia is different from Iran. The drop in the oil price affects its economy more, for its reliance on oil is more than Iran. President Putin has taken measures so as to tackle the price fall, and perhaps, I cannot comment on the economic dimensions, but I hope Russia can handle this finely.

On the one hand, the west-backed sanctions against Russia don’t simply damage Russia and it backfires at them, too. Russia, however, has walked past the most difficult phase. Russia has trodden on more difficult paths, like that at the time of the 2^nd World War, and has been successful, too, in crossing them.

I hope for Russia to be able to successfully tackle the current situation under the present circumstances. On the other hand, Russian officials can also learn a lesson from this crisis. That is not to be so much dependent on a single product. I congratulate the Iranian officials on their capabilities to practice Resistance Economy, cope with the drop in the oil price, and cut its sole reliance on one single product.

You just said that your American friends are hopeful toward the improvement of ties with Iran. Have you suggested that they travel to Iran themselves?

I always encourage my American, Vietnamese and European friends to travel to Iran. I’ve also seen many European tourists who have visited Iran. If the nuclear talks succeed, I’m sure more Americans and Europeans will come to Iran, for they know Iran is an ancient country with ancient civilization.

You have just started your tenure in Iran as Vietnam’s new ambassador. What plans have you thought of to develop economic and political ties between the two countries?

I have lots of cultural and economic plans on my mind. It may be 40 years since the ties were first knotted between Iran and Vietnam, but the cultural and economic areas are very much untouched, whereas a vast economic, cultural and tourism potentials could be put into practice.

What could be problematic, though, is the lack of enough information about the two countries. So to make up for that in the future, there should be more travels and tourism involved.

We held a workshop at our embassy about tourism in Vietnam, which can be a prelude to the area of tourism between the two countries, because the more the visits between the two countries, the higher the level of information of their people.

As far as I know, every year, nearly 80 thousand Iranians visit Thailand. Why shouldn’t one eighth or one tenth of them come to Vietnam? The number of Iranian tourists visiting Vietnam will increase, but we need an initial push.

As long as I know what the potentials are in the area of tourism in Iran, I don’t see why the people of Vietnam and Iran don’t visit each other’s countries. In Mashhad, in the Park of Technology and Science, I comprehended how much Iran has advanced technologically. That can be another aspect in the ties between the two countries and is considered to be a huge advancement. The problem is the two countries don’t know enough about one another and the more closely they come to know each other and the less they care about the rumors, the more they can contribute to their bilateral ties.

Thailand’s tourism industry is very strong and has attracted investors from all over the world. Many Iranian visitors take a trip to Thailand perhaps under the influence of the advertisements but have no imagination but the war with the US about Vietnam. What can you do to restore that image?

You are right. What the people of the two countries remember most clearly is war. Not only do Iranians recall Vietnam by its war with the US which ended 40 years ago, but the people of Vietnam also wrongly think that Iran is located in a war zone with suicide bombings. That is why restoring and updating the mental image of people is on the top of our agenda. That is also a time-consuming process which cannot be carried out in a flash.

I agree that Thailand has made huge investments and is quite well capable of providing decent services for tourists, but Vietnam has more attractive places which can be the sole reason for traveling to this country. Vietnam’s potentials are not only its beach and beautiful nature, but it has culture, history, hospitable people and many other things which can bring prosper tourism there.

Vietnam strives to boost the GDP earned from tourism so much as $16bn in 2020. What measures are to be taken to accomplish such an objective?

I may not be the one to answer this question, for the tourism board in Vietnam should give you a better answer. As Vietnam’s ambassador, I may be able to tell the authorities that there are solid chances for tourists on Iran’s part, but the overall policies are decided upon by the related officials. The Embassy of Vietnam aims at attracting annually 10 thousand Iranians to Vietnam. During my 6 months here, more Iranians have travelled to Vietnam thus far.

Between 2007 and 2012, economic reforms were implemented in Vietnam and the country managed to become a member of the WTO. How did Vietnam achieve its membership?

We became WTO member in 2006. I’m not an expert in that area, but as far as I’m informed, it took nearly 14 years for Vietnam to negotiate with other WTO members-countries to be able to join the WTO. Some countries stated that they need no condition met for Vietnam to become a WTO member, but there were as well some other who wanted to make the membership contingent on certain conditions. Therefore Vietnam had to negotiate with them.

One of the prerequisites for a WTO membership was to open your country to others and vice versa. The methods through which the markets were reopened required a lot of discussions and talks which were carried out.

Wasn’t that in contrast with the Socialistic Thoughts in Vietnam?

No.

Isn’t the concept of open markets a capitalistic attitude?

It is. That was what Vietnam had to work out. In Vietnam we build our economy on the theory of market economy with socialist orientation, which means the economy is run by market principles, by the relations between demands and supplies. But like every country in the world the state can intervene in dividing the country’s welfare. Here we apply the socialist principles, to help the poor, the old people the people in the remote areas etc.

Vietnam intends to gain access to some of Central Asian markets. How much can using Iran’s corridor help Vietnam accomplish this agenda?

On my trip to Khorasan, it was brought up that Iran could be a shortcut to the markets of Central Asia. Honestly speaking, there are other ways to Central Asia from Vietnam  passing China, Russia and other countries. It’s better to leave this matter to merchants and they can decide which way is the best. But as the ambassador of Vietnam here, my focus is more on generally enhancing the ties between the two countries.

You just mentioned China can be a corridor, too. Wouldn’t the disputes between the two countries over some of the oil-rich islands bar any probable agreement?

Vietnam’s ties with China in this case resemble so much those between Iran and the UAE whose economic relations haven’t stopped developing because of their disputes on a few islands.

At your meeting with President Rouhani, he invited Vietnam’s President to Iran to develop political and economic ties. Is there any exact date for that trip?

During my stay in Iran, I’ve come to strongly believe that there are firm grounds and potentials for the two countries in terms of political, economic, scientific and technological collaborations. I intend to promote the bilateral ties appropriately to create a fine environment for the visit of our President. We should note that if the ties between the two countries aren’t strong enough, then it would be uncalled-for for the authorities to visit. Mr. Rouhani and the President of Vietnam shall be happier to see the improvement of the ties and have the trips carried out right after.

Thank you for the time you ascribed to this interview.

I, too, thank you for this interview.