Hanoi (VNA) - The 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam officially opened at the
National Convention Centre in the capital city of Hanoi in the morning of
January 26.
The 1,587 delegates in attendance are representing more than 5.1 million Party
members nationwide, and the figure is 80 more delegates than at the 12th National Party Congress and the highest number ever.
The 13th National Party Congress has the theme “Strengthening the
building and rectification of the Party and the political system into purity
and strength; rousing the will and determination for national development and promoting
the strength of the great national unity bloc in combination with the power of
the era; continuing to comprehensively and synchronously accelerate the cause
of reform; constructing and firmly safeguarding the Fatherland and maintaining
a peaceful and stable environment; and striving to turn Vietnam into a
developed, socialist-oriented nation by the middle of the 21st century.”
The Congress’s Presidium included
members of the 12th-tenure Politburo: Party General Secretary and President
Nguyen Phu Trong; Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc; National Assembly Chairwoman
Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan; Permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s
Secretariat Tran Quoc Vuong; Permanent National Assembly Vice Chairwoman Tong
Thi Phong; Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh; Secretary of the Party
Central Committee and Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Organisation
Commission Pham Minh Chinh; Secretary of the Party Central Committee and
Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information and
Education Vo Van Thuong; Secretary of the Party Central Committee and
Chairwoman of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Mass Mobilisation
Truong Thi Mai; Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chairman of the
Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission Nguyen Van Binh; Deputy Prime
Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh; Minister of National
Defence Ngo Xuan Lich; Minister of Public Security To Lam; Secretary of the
Hanoi Municipal Party Committee Vuong Dinh Hue; Head of the delegation of
National Assembly deputies of Ho Chi Minh City Nguyen Thien Nhan; and permanent
deputy head of the unit in charge of documents
for the 13th National Party Congress Hoang Trung Hai. Secretary of the
Party Central Committee and President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central
Committee Tran Thanh Man is also a member of the Congress’s Presidium.
Former Party General Secretary
Nong Duc Manh; former State Presidents Tran Duc Luong, Nguyen Minh Triet and
Truong Tan Sang; former Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung; and former NA Chairmen
Nguyen Van An and Nguyen Sinh Hung attended the opening ceremony, along with
other leaders and former leaders of the Party, State and Vietnam Fatherland
Front, revolutionary veterans, heroic Vietnamese mothers, intellectuals,
artists, religious dignitaries and representatives of young generations.
Foreign ambassadors, Chargé d’ Affaires and chief representatives of
international organisations in Hanoi were also present at the opening ceremony.
With the motto “Solidarity - Democracy - Discipline - Creativeness - Development”,
the 13th National Party Congress will review not only the
implementation of the Resolution of the 12th National Party Congress
but also 35 years of implementing the “Doi Moi” (Renewal) process, 30 years of implementing
the 1991 Political Platform, 10 years of implementing the amended Political
Platform (supplemented and developed in 2011) and the National Socio-economic
Development Strategy 2011-2020; setting out socio-economic development
orientations and tasks for 2021-2025 (the 50th anniversary of the
liberation of the South and national reunification); and determining goals and
orientations to 2030 (the 100th founding anniversary of the Party) and
a vision for national development to 2045 (the 100th founding
anniversary of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic
of Vietnam). These are important milestones in the development process of the Party,
the people, and the nation, with the significance of defining orientations and
strategic visions for national development in the new era.
The 13th National Party Congress will review Party building work and
the leadership of the 12th-tenure Party Central Committee, defining
directions and tasks of Party building in the new tenure; assess the
performance of the 12th-tenure Party Statutes; and elect the Party
Central Committee for the 13th tenure.
Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong speaks at the ceremony (Photo: VNA)
At the opening ceremony, Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu
Trong, who is also head of the subcommittee in charge of documents, presented
the 12th-tenure Party Central Committee’s report on documents
submitted to the 13th National Party Congress, focusing on a number
of common and basic issues that clear up the major content and important
highlights for the congress to consider, discuss, and give decisive opinions.
Draft documents - Crystallised by the brainpower of the entire Party, people
On preparing the draft documents for the congress, the top leader said that, over
the past two years, sub-committees have closely coordinated with research agencies,
ministries, and sectors at the central level and Party committees at all levels
and local administrations to organise nearly 60 conferences, workshops, and
seminars and establish 50 working delegations to make field trips and consult
former Party and State leaders and experts. Numerous seminars with the World
Bank and several other international organisations were also held, while two
delegations were arranged to gather experience from abroad.
Theoretical and scientific research agencies sent some 80 consulting and proposal
reports to the sub-committees. Many veteran revolutionaries and scientists also
sent letters and comments. After being studied and receiving feedback,
reasonable opinions were placed into the draft documents.
The sub-committees conducted 20 sessions to discuss and adopt the blueprint and
draft documents, while maintaining regular coordination between the
sub-committee and the editing team to ensure consistency in content in the documents,
including the Political Report as the core. The Politburo held many meetings to
give opinions to complete the blueprint and draft documents for submission to
the Party Central Committee for feedback, at the 10th, 11th,
14th and 15th meetings of the Party Central Committee.
Draft reports were amended many times and sent to seek feedback from National
Assembly deputies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee, and other
organisations and agencies.
The Politburo decided to publicise the full text of the draft reports in the mass
media in order to gather opinions from officials, Party members and people both
inside and outside the country. Millions of opinions were made on the draft
documents and summarised for the Party Central Committee. The opinions were
summed up in 1,410 pages, while the general report was 200 pages.
The top leader affirmed that the preparation of the draft documents for the 13th Party National Congress went through many rounds in a meticulous, thoughtful,
and methodical manner, being improved at each step with numerous important
changes in content and method.
Outstanding imprints create new impetus, enthusiasm
Looking back on the 12th tenure and 35 years of the “Doi Moi”
(Renewal) process, the Party General Secretary said that, over the last five
years, grasping the advantages and opportunities, and overcoming the challenges
and hardships, particularly the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and
natural disasters, the entire Party, people, and army have upheld a spirit of
patriotism, solidarity, determination, mettle, and creativeness to work
relentlessly and gain a number of very important and comprehensive achievements.
Thanks to such efforts, the country has witnessed robust and sustainable growth
with heightened trust among the people in the Party, State, and the socialist regime.
Vietnam’s economic growth has averaged 5.9 percent annually, with improved
growth quality, a stable macro-economy, inflation kept under control and at a low
level, and strengthened financial and State budget discipline.
Total investment has been spurred by enhanced effectiveness, while Vietnam’s trade
balance has improved with growing export value. The country has also been
promoting economic restructuring and renewing the growth model, while improving
the business climate and boosting the economy’s scale and competitiveness.
The country’s political and social
stability has been maintained, while living standards of people have been
improved, and progress has been seen in social welfare, healthcare, education
and training, science and technology, environmental protection, culture, and
human development during the period.
Particular attention has been paid to the building and rectification of the
Party and the political system in all areas, from politics, ideology, and ethics,
to personnel. Supervisory efforts and the fight against corruption and waste
have been accelerated, resulting in breakthroughs and real outcomes. Legal
proceedings and trials have been launched regarding a large number of major
economic and corruption cases, which have been handled vigorously as a warning to
others. These moves have received broad support and appreciation from officials,
Party members and people.
Against a backdrop of global and regional uncertainties, Vietnam has
consolidated and reinforced national defence and security and been proactive in
handling all eventualities. The country’s political, economic, cultural, and social
affairs, alongside social order and safety, have been maintained. External
affairs and international integration have been constantly expanded. The
country has also demonstrated its firm and persist determination in protecting
national independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, as well
as the country’s and the people’s interests, while maintaining a peaceful and
stable environment for national development and actively and responsibly
contributing to global and regional peace, cooperation, and development. These efforts
have been highly appreciated by the international community, constantly heightening
the Party and State’s position as well as the country’s stature and strength in
the international arena.
Despite the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam still
recorded significant achievements in 2020 that were even more special than in the
previous years, thanks to its outstanding efforts.
While the global economy experienced negative growth of nearly 4 percent,
Vietnam still posted positive growth of 2.91 percent, making it one of the world’s
economies with the highest growth rates.
Vietnam has been regarded by the international community as a bright spot in
completing the dual goals of containing the pandemic and recovering the
economy.
The Party chief stressed that results gained during the past five years are of
special significance as they have not only created milestones but also
contributed to consolidating confidence and giving new momentum, enthusiasm to the
entire Party, people, and army to firmly overcome all difficulties and
challenges and optimise the opportunities and advantages to bring the country
to a new stage of development.
Valuable lessons of experience
The top leader pointed out certain lessons of experience learned from the renewal
process, especially during the five-year implementation of the Resolution
adopted at the 12th National Party Congress.
Party building and rectification must be implemented drastically,
comprehensively, synchronously, regularly, and effectively in terms of
politics, ideology, morality, organisation, and personnel, he said.
The Party chief stressed the need to persistently pursue and creatively develop
Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought, and to raise the leadership and combat
capacity of the Party.
It is necessary to frequently consolidate and strengthen solidarity within the
Party and the entire political system, seriously follow principles in Party
building, and overhaul the Party’s leadership methods.
The leader also highlighted building a pure and strong State and political
system, and completing a close power control mechanism.
People should be considered the “root” in all Party and State affairs, he said,
underscoring the need to trust, respect, and promote people’s right to mastery,
and persistently follow the motto of “people know, discuss, do, inspect,
supervise and benefit.”
He also mentioned tightening the close ties between the Party and the people,
consolidating and enhancing people’s trust in the Party, the State, and
socialism.
The strong determination, great effort, drastic action, dynamism, creativeness,
and activeness are needed in leadership, instruction, management and implementation,
he said.
The Party General Secretary also ordered the adoption of suitable steps,
bringing into full play all the resources, momentum, and advantages of
socialism, swiftly removing bottlenecks and promoting the responsibility of
leaders, while carrying forward the strength of the entire political system.
Priority should be given to synchronously building development institutions,
ensuring harmony between consistency and innovation, between inheritance and
development, between economic innovation and political and socio-cultural
innovation, between the abidance of market regulations and the assurance of
socialist orientations, between economic growth and cultural and human development,
between the settlement of social issues and the protection of natural resources
and the environment, between socio-economic development and ensuring defence-security,
and between independence, self-reliance and international integration. Special
attention should be paid to promoting the key role of humans, culture,
education and training, and science and technology in national development.
It is also important to proactively study and accurately forecast the situation
to avoid passivity and surprise; consistently safeguard independence,
sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity in parallel with maintaining a
peaceful environment and security stability and safety for national
development; and actively step up international integration intensively and
extensively on the basis of maintaining independence, mastery, self-reliance,
and self-resiliency, the Party chief said.
He stressed that these lessons are important foundations for the Party to
continue making use of and promoting creativeness in leadership and instructions
to help the country remain resolute and overcome new difficulties and
challenges and heavier tasks when entering the 13th tenure.
Comprehensively and synchronously stepping up the renewal process,
rapid and sustainable national development
Regarding orientations and missions for the 13th term and subsequent years, the
Party General Secretary emphasised that the entire Party, people, and army
should thoroughly grasp such directions as being steadfast in applying and
developing Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought, towards the goal of
national independence and socialism, in the Party’s renewal guidelines and in
Party building principles; and ensuring the highest national interests based on
the basic principles of international law, and fair and win-win cooperation to
build and safeguard the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland.
This is a matter of principle and is crucial for the country’s regime, and a
firm foundation for the Party, which cannot be swung by anyone, he stressed.
The country’s overall development
strategy focuses on speeding up the “Doi Moi” (renewal) process in a
comprehensive and synchronous manner, boosting rapid and sustainable
development, ensuring strong cohesion and implementing all tasks, with
socio-economic expansion playing the core role, Party building being a key
matter, cultural development being the moral foundation, and the safeguarding
of national defence and security being the central and ongoing task.
NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan (ninth from right) poses for a photo with female delegates of Hanoi (Photo: VNA)
The awakening of people’s
patriotism, national self-resiliency, and strength of great national solidarity
as well as the desire for a prosperous and happy nation is an important source
of momentum and a resource for growth, along with the promotion of the strength
of the entire political system as well as the culture and people of Vietnam,
encouraging renovation and the application of science and technology, especially
the achievements of the fourth Industrial Revolution.
Meanwhile, a decisive factor in the
success of national construction, development, and defence is to continue to
strengthen the building and rectification of the Party, and enhance the leadership
and ruling capacity as well as the combat strength of the Party.
The general development goal for
the 2021-2025 period and following years is improving the leadership and ruling
capacity and the combativeness of the Party; building a pure and
comprehensively strong Party and political system; reinforcing people’s trust
in the Party, State and socialism; sparking the desire to develop a prosperous
and happy nation with the promotion of the will and strength from the national
great solidarity bloc in combination with the power of the era; comprehensively
speeding up the cause of renewal, industrialisation, and modernisation;
constructing and firmly safeguarding the Fatherland, firmly maintaining a
peaceful and stable environment; and striving to turn Vietnam into a socialist-oriented
developed country by the middle of the 21st century.
Highlighting the major
orientations in important development issues for the country over the next 10
years, the Party General Secretary underlined that the 13th tenure
is an important landmark and transitional step, laying the foundation for
following tenures to successfully realise the goals included in the national development
strategy to 2030 and a vision to 2045.
Promoting the strength of the great national unity bloc
With the motto “Solidarity - Democracy
- Discipline - Creativeness - Development”, the Party General Secretary asked
the congress to undertake careful discussions to reach high consensus and vote
for approval of the documents, thus ensuring the success of the congress and
paving the way for the popularisation and implementation of the Resolution of
the 13th National Party Congress, and successfully completing all
set targets and tasks.
The Party leader expressed his
belief that with a right direction in line with the rules, the cohesion of the
Party policies and people’s aspirations, the promotion of the great national
unity bloc and the strong desire to rise up as well as high political
determination, the entire Party, people, and army is certain to achieve new
growth miracles towards the goal of “wealthy people and a strong, democratic,
equal and civilised country”, thus taking steady steps towards socialism and successfully
turning the wish of President Ho Chi Minh and the aspirations of the whole
nation into reality.
Following the opening ceremony,
Tran Quoc Vuong, member of the Politburo and permanent member of the 12th Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, delivered a report reviewing the
leadership and direction of the 12th Party Central Committee.
In the afternoon, the congress
worked in groups to discuss the draft documents./.