HANOI, June 11 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's top leader To Lam said on Thursday that foreign affairs is a critical and regular task that plays a pioneering role in protecting the nation early and from afar and creating a favorable international environment for national development, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and Vietnamese president, made the statement while addressing a national conference in Hanoi to disseminate and implement the Political Bureau's resolution on carrying out the foreign policy adopted at the 14th National Party Congress.

Strategic autonomy and national resilience, he noted, form the basis of Vietnam's foreign affairs, with the ultimate goal of protecting national interests and placing people at the center of policymaking, the report said.

Foreign affairs must be commensurate with the country's stature, international position and cultural identity as well as contribute to building an independent, self-reliant, peaceful, cooperative and responsible Vietnam, he stated.