“The Diplomatic Society” newswire of South Africa on April 6 carried an article on the newly-elected leaders of the Vietnamese Party and State.
State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) presents flower to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (Photo: VNA) Pretoria (VNA) – “The Diplomatic Society” newswire of
South Africa on April 6 carried an article on the newly-elected leaders of the
Vietnamese Party and State.
In the article, founder and Editor-in-Chief of the newswire Kirtan
Bhana said world leaders, heads of
international organisations and regional bodies have congratulated and acknowledged the election
of the Vietnamese leaders. Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, State
President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National
Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue were confirmed in their leadership roles after
the deliberations and consultations of the 13th National Party
Congress which wrapped up in February 2021.
The author
noted that the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress stated
that the country will “focus on measures to basically complete the elements of
a socialist-oriented market economy, better handling the relationship between
the State, the market and society. Vietnam’s development achievements, recognised
prestige and elevated status over the past five years have created
circumstances to realise its true potential.”
The election of
the Politburo, the Secretariat, and the General Secretary of the Party
reflected the effectiveness of the preparatory personnel work, which screened
out unqualified or undeserving people from the Party Central Committee while
including people with morality, talent, and a good reputation.
General
Secretary Trong was re-elected to a third term while former PM Phuc was elected
as President allowing him to stay among the country’s top leaders, providing a
continuity of policy implementation. Hue, former Minister of Finance and former
Deputy PM, has been approved as NA Chairman completing the top four roles in
the Government.
According to
the author, PM Chinh and his Government will prioritise international relations
and diplomacy. He cited Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son as saying that Vietnam’s
astute and pragmatic international relations and diplomacy has significantly
contributed to maintaining a peaceful, stable environment favourable for
national development, as well as national security.
The article highlighted that recently, Vietnam has set up comprehensive
partnership with five more countries and upgraded relations with two others to
a strategic partnership, raising the total number of its strategic partners to
17 and comprehensive partners to 13, including all permanent members of the
United Nations Security Council and ASEAN member nations. The conclusion of
five free trade agreements (FTA) positions Vietnam at the centre of a network
of 16 regional FTAs that will attract significant resources and investment to
the country.
Son was quoted as saying that diplomacy has
played a significant role in raising the country’s position, as reflected
through its hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in
2017, the World Economic Forum on ASEAN in 2018, the 26th Annual
Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum in 2018, the summit between the
US and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in 2019, its ASEAN and
AIPA Chairmanship last year, and non-permanent membership of the UN Security
Council for 2020-2021./.