In his speech, President of the VFF Central Committee, Huynh Dam, said that this first conference is of great significance for implementing resolutions adopted at the VFF’s 7^th congress and reaching a consensus on action programmes for 2010.

Regarding the front’s activities in 2009, Vice President and General Secretary of the VFF Central Committee, Vu Trong Kim, said in 2009, the local VFF committees and member organisations have effectively implemented the action programmes of the sixth conference of the 6^th VFF Central Committee. As a result, the great national unity bloc continued to be reinforced with the active participation of people from all social strata in patriotic emulation movements as a contribution to fulfilling socio-economic development targets.

However, Mr Kim pointed out some weaknesses in the front’s operations over the past year such as its failure to make the public fully aware of urgent need to develop human resources.

In 2010, the VFF will focus on strengthening the bloc of great national unity by encouraging people to take part in patriotic emulation movements and Party building and bringing into full play the people’s talents, expanding people-to-people diplomacy and promoting international solidarity, said Mr Kim.

At the conference, delegates also gave opinions on draft reports on the operational regulations of the VFF Central Committee, the 7^th VFF Central Committee’s Standing Board and the establishment of the Advisory Councils of the 7^th VFF Central Committee.

The conference will close on January 15.