Vietnam aspires to enter a new era of national advancement

Era of robust development and acceleration

In an interview recently granted to Vietnam News Agency to mark the lunar New Year 2025 and 95 years of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 3, 1930 – 2025), Party General Secretary To Lam noted that, the rising era for Vietnam is an era of robust development and acceleration under the leadership of the communist party to successfully build a socialist, prosperous, democratic, just, civilized, thriving, and happy nation that is to catch up with and stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s great powers.

The top priority in the new era is to successfully achieve the strategic goals by 2030, when Vietnam will become a developing country with modern industry and a high middle-income level; and by 2045, when Vietnam will become a developed socialist country with high income.

The new era will be marked by the coming 14th National Party Congress due to take place in early 2026, after 40 years of implementing the Đổi Mới (Renovation) process, recording great achievements. From a poor and backward country with a crippling economy due to western embargos, Vietnam has become a developing country with a middle-income level, that has deeply integrated into the global political system, economy, and human civilization. It has assumed many important international responsibilities, and played an active role in many major multilateral organizations and forums.

Importantly, Vietnam has maintained national independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, while ensuring national interests, said the Party leader.

The size of the national economy in 2023 has increased 96 times compared to 1986 when the Renovation process began, making Vietnam among the top 40 largest economies in the world, one of the top 20 economies in trade and foreign investment attraction. The country has established diplomatic relations with 194 countries and territories across all continent. It has built strategic and comprehensive partnerships with all the great powers of the world.

Among other accomplishments, the Millennium Development Goals have been achieved ahead of schedule; the lives of 105 million people have been significantly improved; and the poverty rate has been drastically reduced. The political, socio-economic, cultural, scientific-technological, defense, and security potential has been continuously enhanced.

The Party leader highlighted the period from now until 2030 as the most crucial phase to establish a new world order. This is also a strategic opportunity, the final phase of the Vietnamese revolution to achieve the 100-year strategic goal under the Party's leadership, creating a solid foundation to reach the goal of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the country.

The key is to fully leverage the strength of national unity, the high determination and effort of the entire Party, people, army, and the political system working together to realize the aspiration for a prosperous, happy nation, stressed To Lam.

In the course of leading the Revolution, he said the Communist Party of Vietnam has continuously sought to develop and refine its leadership methods, aimed at enhancing its leadership and ruling capacity. In his view, Vietnam is now at a new historical juncture, necessitating an urgent and vigorous renewal of leadership methods and improvement to propel the country forward.

The new context, he said, requires the political system to renew and restructure its organizational apparatus to be streamlined, strong, efficient, and effective. The pressing demand must be addressed urgently, decisively, thoroughly, scientifically, and humanely, to ensure that the new organizational model must be better and more effective than the old one.

To renovate the Party’s leadership methods, he stressed, it is necessary to transform how Party resolutions are issued, disseminated, and implemented. The resolutions should accurately address the demands, tasks, and development paths of the country, each locality, and every sector, characterized by vision, scientific and practical value, feasibility, and relevance. Such resolutions should inspire excitement, trust, expectation, and motivation among officials, Party members, economic sectors, businesses, and the public to act upon them.

Tougher fight against wastefulness

In the interview, the Party leader also highlighted the fight against wastefulness as a challenging and complex battle against internal enemies, akin to the fight against corruption and negative phenomena. He recalled that the Politburo issued Decision No. 192 in late October 2024 on restructuring the Central Steering Committee for Prevention and Control of Corruption, Wastefulness and Negative Phenomena. The decision includes the additional task of combating wastefulness, focusing primarily on waste in the management and use of public finances and public assets, with the ultimate goal of fostering a culture of saving and reducing waste across all sectors of society. It emphasizes the need for decisive and synchronized anti-corruption, anti-waste, and anti-negative efforts, starting at the grassroots levels.

In the coming period, he said efforts must focus on extensive communication to raise awareness and responsibility among officials, Party members, and workers. Leaders in every organization, both in the public and private sectors, must set an example of the importance and responsibility of practicing thrift and combating waste. This effort must be concretized through commitments, plans, and specific targets and should be carried out regularly and thoroughly. It must manifest through widespread and enthusiastic campaigns and movements across the entire Party, populace, and military. Timely recognition, commendation, and replication of exemplary practices in saving and waste reduction are essential.

It is also necessary to refine regulations and impose strict penalties on individuals and organizations whose actions cause loss or waste of public assets. Resolving the root causes of waste in public assets, natural resources, and human resources is crucial in prioritizing the well-being of the people and the country’s development.

According to the Party General Secretary, building a culture of integrity, free from corruption, wastefulness, and negativity among officials, Party members, and citizens, and spreading this culture widely in society, should become a voluntary and habitual practice. It is therefore vital to encourage officials, Party members, and citizens to adopt a habit of thrift, and at the same time to promote technology application, digital transformation, and administrative reform in addressing bureaucratic hurdles and harassment faced by citizens and businesses. Furthermore, it is crucial in preventing the misuse of anti-corruption and anti-waste initiatives that obstruct development or gain personal benefits.

When Party organizations and members effectively implement these measures, public trust in the Party’s leadership will grow, while, resources and assets will be used appropriately, contributing to sustainable development not only for the country but also for the world, said the leader.

Good preparations for coming National Party Congress

The top leader stressed the need to make good preparations, including personnel work, for the coming 14th National Party Congress. He said the selected individuals must be truly exemplary and outstanding, that possess sufficient courage, qualities, intellect, leadership capacity, professional expertise, and credibility among the people and within the Party to address strategic-level tasks. They must exhibit a strong sense of discipline, a high level of combativeness, close ties with the people, and the ability to foster unity and consensus across the entire Party and society.

Such individuals must be worthy of leading the country in a new phase of development, he said.

Amidst a global landscape filled with opportunities and favourable conditions, yet also marked by numerous challenges and difficulties, he said, Vietnam, under the leadership of the Communist Party, will confidently advance into a new era - the era of national advancement. The progress will be rooted in the strength of great national unity, the alignment of Party intentions with the people’s will, and the promotion of the spirit of self-reliance, confidence, self-determination, resilience, and national pride. Coupled with a pure spirit of international solidarity as a driving force, Vietnam is poised to contribute even more significantly to peace, stability, cooperation, and development in the region and the rest of the world.

On this journey, the Party, State, and People of Vietnam hope to continue receiving strong support and close cooperation from friends, partners, and peace-loving people around the world, he said.