Communist Party of Vietnam opens 13th National Congress

Among the delegates taking part in the occasion are incumbent and formers leaders of the Party, State, Government, National Assembly, Fatherland Front, revolutionary veterans, heroic Vietnamese mothers, intellects, artists, religious dignitaries, and youth representatives.

Also present are ambassadors, chargés d'affaires, and chief representatives of international organisations based in Hanoi.

The nine-day congress is to review the implementation of resolutions adopted during the previous 12th congress. It will evaluate 35 years of the implementation of the Party-led Doi Moi (Renewal) process, 30 years of carrying out the 1991 Platform and 10 years of implementing the socio-economic development strategy up to 2020.

The congress will therefore set out various directions and tasks for national socio-economic development for the 2021 to 2025 period, alongside defining national development goals and orientations toward 2030 and a vision for 2045.

Furthermore, the event will also include a review of the Party building work and the leadership of the Party Central Committee. It will identify the directions and tasks of Party building, evaluate the implementation of the Party Statutes and elect the Party Central Committee for the new five-year term.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc delivers the opening speech at the congress.

In his opening speech, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc noted that the congress is being held at a time when the country faces both intertwined opportunities and challenges. Therefore, he said officials and people are pinning their hopes on decisions that will be endorsed by the congress in order to help the nation weather the storm and foster rapid and sustainable development.

Presenting the political report, Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong outlined that the past five years have seen the entire Party, the army, and citizens unite in order to overcome numerous difficulties and record plenty of important milestones.

According to General Secretary Trong, the national economy was able to maintain a relatively high growth rate, with major economic balances continuing to be guaranteed, whilst initial positive results were recorded when addressing shortcomings.

Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong highlights Vietnam's major achievements during the past five years in a political report delivered at the congress.

The Party leader took time to underline the importance of the fight against corruption, saying that anti-graft measures have paid off.

“Many notorious corruption cases have been brought to light, acting as a deterrent to other offenders and receiving strong public support,” he stressed.

Faced with plenty of rapid and complicated developments both regionally and globally, General Secretary Trong said that the country has successfully strengthened its national defence capacity whilst competently handling all situations.

Never before have the position and reputation of the Party, State, and nation been consistently elevated among the international arena as they are at present, he said.

Despite the impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020, the country recorded an impressive 2.9% GDP growth rate, thereby becoming one of the few economies globally to enjoy a positive rate. It was also able to bring the COVID-19 disease under control, thus creating favourable conditions for domestic business activities to recover.

“Vietnam has been singled out internationally as a bright spot in realising the dual goal of epidemic prevention and economic recovery, not to mention efforts to overcome the consequences of natural disasters,” stressed General Secretary Trong.

He attributed these impressive achievements to the strong will and determination of the people, as well as joint efforts by the entire political system, saying these milestones can serve as a driving force for the entire Party, the army, and citizens to firmly overcome challenges in the new stage of development.

The Party chief also pointed out five lessons for the Vietnamese revolution over the coming years, in which he placed great importance on ongoing efforts of Party building and rectification drive, delving into the continued fight against corruption.

With regard to the country’s tasks and orientations over the next five years and beyond, General Secretary Trong said many difficulties and challenges are ahead, along with unpredictable changes both regionally and globally.

According to the Party leader, national economic growth is not yet to meet its potential, the resilience of the national economy to the impact of COVID-19 is not high, and the operational efficiency of State-owned enterprises remains low.

“These challenges require us to have stronger determination, greater efforts, and more drastic measures. There is no room for complacency,” he stressed.

Moving forward, he said the overall goal of the Vietnamese revolution in the coming years is to improve the Party’s leadership capacity, develop a truly clean and strong political system, comprehensively and synchronously promote the Renewal process, and accelerate both industrialisation and modernisation.

Vietnam is aiming to become a developing nation with a modern industry, surpassing low-middle income status by 2025, a developing nation with a modern industry and a high-average income status by 2030, and a developed socialist country with a high-income status by 2045.