14th National Party Congress: Opening Session reflects aspirations in every step

General Secretary To Lam presented the Report of the 13th Pary Central Committee on the documents submitted to the 14th National Party Congress. (Source: VNA)

The Congress bears the theme: Under the glorious flag of the Party, uniting in strength and determination to successfully achieve national development goals by 2030; strategic self-reliance, self-strengthening and confidence, advancing strongly in the era of the nation’s rise, for peace, independence, democracy, prosperity, affluence, civilisation and happiness, steadfastly moving toward socialism.

The Congress’s Presidium consists of 16 members of the 13th Political Bureau: General Secretary To Lam, President of the Presidium; State President Luong Cuong; Secretary of the Government’s Party Committee, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh; Secretary of the National Assembly’s Party Committee, Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man; Standing Member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat, Secretary of the Party Committee of Central Party Agencies Tran Cam Tu; Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Organisation Commission Le Minh Hung; Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Internal Affairs Phan Dinh Trac; President of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council Nguyen Xuan Thang; Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and Central Mass Organisations, President of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Bui Thi Minh Hoai; Standing Deputy Secretary of the Government’s Party Committee, Standing Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh; Standing Deputy Secretary of the National Assembly’s Party Committee, Standing Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Do Van Chien; Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission, Minister of National Defence, General Phan Van Giang; Secretary of the Central Public Security Party Committee, Minister of Public Security, General Luong Tam Quang; Standing Member of the Subcommittee for Documents for the 14th National Party Congress Nguyen Van Nen; Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Member of the Standing Board of the Central Military Commission, Chairman of the General Department of Politics under the Vietnam People's Army, General Nguyen Trong Nghia; Secretary of the Hanoi City Party Committee Nguyen Duy Ngoc.

Attending the opening session were incumbent and former leaders of the Party, State and Vietnam Fatherland Front, veteran revolutionaries, Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, representatives of intellectuals, artists, religious dignitaries and outstanding members of the younger generation.

Ambassadors, representatives of foreign countries, and heads of resident and non-resident international organisations in Vietnam were also present at the event.

The Congress brings together 1,586 delegates, representing more than 5.6 million Party members nationwide. A large number of domestic and international journalists are covering the event.

As assigned by the Presidium, Politburo member and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired the opening session. Politburo Member and President, on behalf of the Presidium, delivered the opening speech of the Congress.

At the opening session, on behalf of the 13th Central Committee, General Secretary To Lam, Head of the Document Subcommittee, presented the Report of the 13th Central Committee on the documents submitted to the 14th Party Congress, emphasizing key points and new aspects of the draft documents for the Congress to consider, discuss, and decide upon.

The draft documents submitted to the Congress includes: the Draft Political Report of the 13th Party Central Committee; the Draft Summary Report on some theoretical and practical issues of the socialist-oriented renovation over the past 40 years in Vietnam; the Draft Summary Report on 15 years of implementing the Party Charter (2011 - 2025) and proposals, orientations for amending and supplementing the Party Charter.

Among these, the Draft Political Report integrates three reports (Political Report, Socio-economic Report, and Summary Report on Party Building) into a unified, comprehensive whole, with clear focus, concise, easy to understand, remember, and implement.

“The hallmark of the 13th Party Congress term: Capability, determination, steadfastness, resilience,” the Report states, noting that in just one month, nearly 5 million cadres, party members, and citizens contributed over 14 million opinions to the Document Subcommittees, which were carefully distilled and seriously absorbed, contributing to a Political Report that embodies the wisdom and strength of the People, blending the Party's intentions with the people's will, truly serving as a “guiding torch” and an “action manual” for the entire Party, people, and military.

The comprehensive results of the 13th Party Congress term continue to affirm the leadership role and prestige of the Party. The people's trust in the Party, State, and regime is increasingly solidified, creating an important premise for the country to enter a new development phase with new momentum, determination, and aspirations.

Reflecting on 40 years of renovation, with significant achievements of historical significance, including notable contributions from the 13th Congress term, we have ample basis to affirm: The Party's renovation policy is entirely correct, suitable to Vietnam's realities and the development trend of the era. Our renovation policy clearly identifies the People as the center and subject of the revolutionary cause; steadfast in the goal of national independence linked with socialism; consistently building and perfecting three foundational pillars: Socialist-oriented market economy - Socialist rule of law state - Socialist democracy.

From the practical leadership of the revolution over four decades of renovation, we have distilled five valuable lessons: First, steadfastly and creatively apply and develop Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh Thought; steadfast in the goal of national independence linked with socialism, the Party's renovation policy, the Party's organizational and operational principles; using development for stability, stability for sustainable development; continuously improving people's lives; ensuring the highest national and ethnic interests; maintaining independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, protecting the Fatherland early and from afar; proactively and actively integrating deeply into global politics, the international economy, and human civilization, combining national strength with the strength of the era.

Second, maintaining and strengthening the Party's leadership, ruling role, and combat strength is the decisive factor for all victories. Building and rectifying the Party and a clean, strong political system; a streamlined, efficient, effective apparatus; resolutely and persistently fighting corruption, wastefulness, negativity; building a cadre team, especially at the strategic level, with sufficient quality, capacity, prestige, commensurate with the task, focusing on building a grassroots cadre team close to the people, for the people, capable of completing tasks. Emphasizing responsibility, exemplary role of cadres, party members, especially leaders.

Third, deeply grasp and thoroughly practice the viewpoint “The People are the root”, promoting the role of the People as the subject, the central position. Strengthening and promoting the strength of the People and the great national unity bloc. Truly trusting, respecting, and promoting the people's right to mastery; practicing “the people know, the people discuss, the people do, the people check, the people supervise, the people benefit”. Tightening the close relationship between the Party and the People, relying on the People to build the Party and the political system. Using the satisfaction and trust of the people, businesses, and work efficiency as criteria for evaluating cadres.

Fourth, closely following reality, accurately forecasting the situation; proactive, flexible, timely, appropriate policy responses; decisive leadership, direction, and implementation with focus and priority; clear assignment, decentralization, delegation of authority, responsibility, authority, time, results; strict inspection and supervision; improving institutional quality; removing bottlenecks, unlocking and effectively using all resources for national construction, development, and protection.

Fifth, continuously innovating thinking, especially strategic thinking; consistent, steadfast in strategy, flexible, adaptable in tactics; respecting objective laws, combating subjectivism, voluntarism, dogmatism, opportunism, conservatism... The Report also points out the core in document construction work with a spirit of openness, science, and action.

A call to action, the command of Historical Responsibility

Focusing on implementing strategic decisions The motto “Unity - Democracy - Discipline - Breakthrough - Development” of the Congress is a call to action, a command of responsibility before history.

The Political Report outlines the general goal: Maintaining a peaceful, stable environment; rapidly and sustainably developing the country; improving and comprehensively enhancing the people's living standards; strategic autonomy, resilience, confidence, advancing strongly in the new era of the nation; successfully achieving the goal of becoming a modern industrialized, upper-middle-income developing country by 2030; realizing the vision of becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045, a peaceful, independent, democratic, prosperous, civilized, happy socialist Vietnam. Striving for an average GDP growth rate of 10% or more per year for the 2026 - 2030 period; per capita GDP by 2030 reaching approximately 8,500 USD/year.

To realize the above objectives, the Political Report identifies 12 major orientations; 6 key tasks and 3 strategic breakthroughs.

The action program has concretized tasks that can be immediately implemented. The core spirit is condensed into 8 important contents, clearly expressing the requirement: Choose correctly - implement quickly - thoroughly execute - measure by results.

First: Perfecting the development institution and the socialist rule of law state: Using implementation as a measure. Second: Establishing a new growth model: Knowledge economy, digital economy, green economy, circular economy. Third: Science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation: The central driving force of development. Fourth: Culture and people: The spiritual foundation of society, endogenous strength, resources, and driving force for national development. Fifth: National defense, security, and foreign affairs: Maintaining peace for development, developing to enhance national comprehensive strength. Sixth: Building and rectifying the Party and a clean, strong political system; cadre work is “the key of the key”. Seventh: Building a healthy, disciplined, civilized, safe, and developing Vietnamese society. Eighth: Great national unity: The foundation of national strength. The three strategic breakthroughs identified from the 13th Congress are significant for the entire 2021 - 2030 period, but entering the 14th Congress term, the requirement is to do it strongly, quickly, thoroughly, as these are decisive levers for the country's breakthrough. These are: breakthroughs in institution and implementation; breakthroughs in human resources; breakthroughs in synchronous, modern infrastructure.

Leaders and former leaders of the Party and State attend the opening session. (Source: VNA)

The people are the root: The highest measure of every decision

The People are the root: The highest measure of every decision According to the political report, the overarching thought in the Document and also the source of strength of the Vietnamese revolution is “The People are the root”. The People are the center, the subject, the goal, the driving force, and the resource of development.

All policies must aim to improve the material and spiritual life of the People; ensure the People's right to mastery; respect, listen to, and rely on the People. The Party must closely connect with the People, wholeheartedly serve the People, be subject to the People's supervision, and be accountable to the People for all its decisions.

The People's trust in the Party does not come from words but from actions, from the impartiality and integrity of cadres, from the effectiveness of the apparatus, from fairness in enjoyment, from timely and thorough resolution of legitimate grievances of the people and businesses. Entering a new phase, we must care for building the people's heart front. A strong people's heart front ensures strong national defense and security; a strong people's heart front ensures comprehensive reform. A strong people's heart front overcomes any difficulty, resolves any challenge, as Uncle Hồ taught, “Easy a hundred times, without the people, it’s impossible - Difficult a thousand times, with the people, it’s done”.

Our greatest weakness is having many correct policies but failing to meet implementation requirements. Therefore, this Document emphasizes the requirement for action; highlights the responsibility of each level, each sector, each cadre; resolutely overcoming the situation of “talking much, doing little”, “talking well, doing poorly”, even “talking without doing”; lacking inspection, supervision; setting high goals but slow implementation, low effectiveness.

To turn determination into results, focus intensely on five groups of tasks: First, concretize the Document into programs, plans with clear objectives, measurable targets, specific timelines, and assigned responsibilities; everything must have someone accountable to the end; avoid the situation of “everyone’s responsibility is no one’s responsibility”, “passing the buck”. Second, establish mechanisms for regular and ad-hoc inspection, supervision, evaluation; resolutely handle delays, evasion, buck-passing; promptly reward good performers; effectively protect those who dare to think, dare to do, dare to take responsibility for the common good. Third, mobilize and use resources effectively; practice thrift, combat waste; invest with focus and priority; avoid spreading thin; avoid following trends; prevent loss, waste that erodes trust, social resources, and slows the country's progress. Fourth, implement a public service culture of integrity, professionalism, science; use the satisfaction of the people and businesses as an important criterion; use data and results as a basis for evaluation; resolutely prevent negativity; increase transparency and accountability. Fifth, do well in information and communication to ensure social consensus. Deep reforms will touch interests, so it must be public, transparent, listen, explain thoroughly, patiently persuade; resolutely fight against all forms of exploitation, distortion; at the same time, respect constructive criticism and promptly adjust unreasonable implementations. Implementation must be tied to discipline. Party discipline must lead. The rule of law must be strict. All power must be controlled. All responsibilities must be defined. All violations must be punished, and all genuine efforts for the people and the country must be recognized and protected.

Inheriting the glorious tradition under the Party's glorious flag; with the unity and joint effort of the entire Party, people, and military; with the spirit of self-reliance, resilience, and aspiration to rise of the nation; with the strategic vision and breakthrough decisions identified in the documents submitted to the 14th Congress; we will surely create a strong, substantial shift, leading the country to breakthrough development, fully realizing Uncle Hồ's sacred will: “My ultimate desire is: The entire Party, the entire people strive to build a peaceful, unified, independent, democratic, and prosperous Vietnam, and make a worthy contribution to the world revolutionary cause.”

We enter a new development phase with the legacy of the nation's glorious tradition, the achievements of 96 years under the Party's leadership, 40 years of renewal with valuable lessons, the strength of great national unity, and the people's heart front. We have enough basis to believe: When there is high unity in thought; decisiveness in action; strictness in discipline; the People truly at the center, we will certainly turn aspirations into reality; lead the country to advance strongly, steadily in the era of national awakening, advancing towards socialism, according to the Political Report.

Subsequently, Politburo Member, Standing Member of the Secretariat Tran Cam Tu presented the Report on the leadership and direction review of the 13th Party Central Committee.