In the first half of this year, the state diplomacy work was carried out concertedly and effectively. The provincial People's Committee organised 34 delegations of provincial and district leaders on business trips abroad, and hosted 23 delegations.

It also welcomed foreign guests, and directed relevant agencies to put forth programmes and agendas that ensured safety and efficiency, along with plans to welcome foreign delegations in accordance with international practices and regulations set by the Party Central Committee and the province.

Economic diplomacy has been done drastically and comprehensively, with improvements in both quality and quantity. The province has actively coordinated with ministries and central departments and agencies, infrastructure investors, and strategic partners to promote its potential, strengths, and investment opportunities to partners and foreign countries.

It has also maintained contacts with international organisations, countries and territories around the world to boost agricultural exports, while providing information and publications for Vietnamese representative offices abroad to serve investment, trade and tourism promotion.

Son La displayed its tourism and agricultural products at the 2024 Son La - Houaphanh Culture and Tourism Festival in Laos; organised a series of tourism promotion activities and a ceremony to announce the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s decision recognising the Moc Chau National Tourist Area; and joined the Vietnam International Travel Mart (VITM) 2024, and the Vietnam International Sourcing 2024 in Ho Chi Minh City.

Such diplomatic and promotion activities have contributed to raising the province's trade value in the first five months of this year by 63.15% year-on-year to about 20.13 million USD, with exports estimated at 12.86 million USD, up 62.22%.

In addition, the province attracted seven FDI projects from Japan, the Republic of Korea (RoK), Taiwan (China) and New Zealand, with a total investment capital of 153.6 million USD in the fields of agricultural production, high-tech agriculture, and mining. Currently, the province is working on two projects using official development assistance (ODA) loans.

Attention has been paid to cultural diplomacy, as reflected through the successful organisation of the Son La – Houaphanh Culture and Tourism Festival 2024 in the Lao province of Houaphanh, and the ceremony to announce the ministry’s decision recognising the Moc Chau National Tourist Area in 2024.

Promoting diplomatic activities, Son La province continues to effectively implement the foreign policy of the Party and State during the period of international integration, significantly contributing to tightening and strengthening the traditional friendship, expanding cooperation with new partners, promoting the locality’s advantages, attracting more investments, and spurring trade, tourism and socio-economic development.