Room for international integration remains huge: PM

PM Pham Minh Chinh addresses the first meeting of the steering committee for the plan on reviewing the 10-year implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution 22-NQ/TW on August 2. (Photo: VNA)

National development has been promoted in both quality and quantity over the 10 years of implementing the Politburo’s resolution on international integration, but there remains huge room for Vietnam to further integrate into the world, said Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

The PM, who is also head of the steering committee for the plan on reviewing the 10-year implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution 22-NQ/TW on international integration, made the remarks while chairing the committee’s first meeting on August 2.

He noted that the resolution, issued by the 11th-tenure Politburo on April 10, 2013, marked an important shift in the Party and State’s mindset about Vietnam’s integration into the world, from “international economic integration” to “proactive, active, comprehensive, intensive, and effective integration into the world” in all aspects, including politics, defence, security, culture, society, science - technology, and education - training.

Under the resolution, since 2013, Vietnam has upgraded its relations with seven countries to strategic partnerships or comprehensive strategic partnerships, and with seven others to the comprehensive partnerships, raising the number of countries with which it has strategic or comprehensive partnerships to 33, including all superpowers in the world.

It has also officially taken part in UN peacekeeping operations, deeply engaged in many new-generation and high-standard free trade agreements and trade connections such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the EU - Vietnam Free Trade Agreemen (EVFTA), thus helping create favourable foreign relations for national development.

PM Chinh noted that the resolution implementation has brought about big changes, elaborating that the awareness of the issue has been improved with international integration identified as a task of the entire people and political system; actions made in a more proactive, comprehensive and intensive manner; the quality and quantity of development promoted; the country’s political stature and strength enhanced; external relations expanded; and GDP almost doubling compared to 10 years ago.

Perceiving that there remains huge room for Vietnam’s integration into the world, he pointed out several lessons for the process.

The first meeting of the steering committee for the plan on reviewing the 10-year implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution 22-NQ/TW on August 2. (Photo: VNA)

Accordingly, international integration holds strategic significance and is a task of the entire people and political system, with people and businesses acting as the centre, key players, resources, and momentum for the process.

Integration into the world contains both opportunities and challenges, and this is a difficult but compulsory task, the PM said, stressing that it is necessary to properly handle the relationship between independence, self-reliance and intensive, comprehensive and effective international integration; and to optimise internal resources and make use of external ones.

"International integration must be viewed as an important impetus for innovation and development. Besides, the process must be carried out in tandem with improving the country’s self-reliance, competitiveness, resilience, and adaptability to external changes," PM Chinh emphasised.

The Government leader underlined the need to grasp the domestic and international situations; “utilise the invariables in response to variables” for the sake of national interests; and strongly combine integration in different fields, with economic integration being the focus.

As there isn’t much time left before the deadline for the steering committee to complete the review and report to the Politburo, he asked the committee to hasten fulfilling their duties to propose the Politburo issue a document on directions for international integration for the coming time./.