Congress resolution eyes developed country status for Vietnam by mid-21st century

Le Minh Hung, Secretary of the 13th Party Central Committee, Chief of the Party Central Committee’s Office, and head of the note-takers’ board, read the congress’s draft resolution at the 13th National Party Congress’s closing session on February 1 morning

The resolution stated that the congress agreed on the basic assessments of the implementation outcomes of the 12th National Party Congress’s resolution, the 1991 Platform on National Construction during the Transitional Period towards Socialism that was supplemented and developed in 2011, the 2011 - 2020 socio-economic development strategy, the 1991 Platform, the 35 years of “Doi moi” (Renewal) policy, along with national development orientations and tasks for the time ahead as noted in the documents submitted by the 12th-tenure Party Central Committee to the 13th congress.

Regarding the implementation outcomes of the 12th National Party Congress’s resolution, the resolution said during the 12th tenure, the entire Party, people, and army stayed united and exerted efforts to successfully realise targets and tasks, gaining a number of highly important achievements.

However, the resolution noted the building of institutions, growth model reform, economic restructuring, industrialisation, and modernisation has not met expectation while the economy’s productivity, quality, efficiency, and competitiveness remain low.

The 10-year implementation of the Platform (supplemented and developed in 2011) and the 2011- 2020 socio-economic development strategy have created important progresses, affirming the great values of the Platform and that the Party’s “Doi moi” policy is sound and creative.

However, the socio-economic development hasn’t lived up to the country’s potential and advantages, and there remain many difficulties and challenges. Some targets in the 2011 -2020 socio-economic development strategy have been missed, and the creation of a foundation for basically turning Vietnam into a modernity-oriented industrial country has fallen short of expectations.

During the 35 years of carrying out the “Doi moi” policy and 30 years implementing the 1991 Platform on national construction during the transitional period towards socialism, people’s material and spiritual lives have been improved considerably, and the country has never obtained a fortune, strength, stature, and prestige in the international arena like what it has today.

The above-mentioned attainments have continued proving that the path to socialism in Vietnam matches the reality in the country and the development trend of the era, and that the Party’s clear-sighted leadership is the leading factoring determining the success of Vietnam’s revolution.

Amid the fast and complicatedly changing international situation, the Party’s Platform remains “the flag of ideology, the flag of combat, the flag gathering the great national solidarity” for the goal of rich people, strong country, and an equitable, democratic, and civilised nation, according to the resolution.

Regarding development vision and orientations, the resolution stated that the global and domestic situation in the coming years requires the entire Party, people, and army to stay united and unanimous; keep reforming the mindset strongly; demonstrate strong political resolve; make precise and timely forecast of the situation’s changes; make proactive and timely response to any circumstance; exert more efforts to further comprehensively and concertedly promote “Doi moi”; unceasingly enhance the country’s strength in all aspects, firmly safeguard the Fatherland and the obtained development achievements; take the country forwards firmly with rapid and sustainable development; and be determined to realise the following key viewpoints, targets, orientations, and tasks:

The guiding viewpoint is to stay persistent in and creatively apply and develop Marxism - Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s Thought, while keeping steadfast with the goal of national independence and socialism, the Party’s “Doi moi” policy, and the Party building principles.

To ensure to the utmost the country and people’s interests on the basis of the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and international law; continue developing the country fast and sustainably, closely combine and concertedly carry out tasks; to strongly inspire patriotism, the will of national self-reliance, the strength of the great national solidarity, and the aspiration for national development; bring into play socialist democracy; combine the strength of the nation with the strength of the era; uphold the will of independence and self-reliance in proactively and actively integrating into the world and improving the effectiveness of international cooperation; optimise international strength and make use of external resources; and intensify Party building and rectification work and boost the Party’s leadership and ruling capacity and combatant strength.

The overall goal is to promote the Party’s leadership and ruling capacity and combatant strength; build a clean and comprehensively strong Party and political system; consolidate and enhance the people’s trust in the Party, State, and socialist regime; comprehensively and concertedly promote the “Doi moi”, industrialisation, and modernisation; build and firmly safeguard the Fatherland, maintain a peaceful and stable environment; and strive to turn Vietnam into a socialist-oriented developed country by the mid-21st century.

The concrete targets is that by 2025, Vietnam will become a developing country with modernity-oriented industry and move up and out of the lower-middle income level; by 2030, when the Party marks its centenary, Vietnam will be a developing country with modern industry and upper-middle incomes; and by 2045, when the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, now the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, turns 100, the country will become a developed one with high incomes.

The resolution puts forward main targets on socio-economic development for 2021-2025.

The averaged GDP growth rate in the period is projected at 6.5-7% a year, and GDP per capita will reach US$4,700-5,000 by 2025.

By 2025, the number of labourers working in the agricultural sector will account for about 25% of the total workforce, the proportion of trained workers will be 70%, the unemployment rate in urban areas will be curbed under 4%, and the multidimensional poverty rate will maintain a decrease rate of 1-1.5% a year. Health insurance is expected to cover 95% of the population, the life expectancy will reach 74.5 years, and the rate of communes meeting new-style rural criteria will hit at least 80%.

In terms of the environment, by 2025, the rate of access to clean and hygienic water will reach 95-100% for urban residents, and 93-95% for rural residents, while 100% of facilities which cause serious environmental pollution will be handled, and the forest coverage will be kept stable at 42%.

Regarding national development orientations for 2021-2030, the resolution requires to continue renewing the way of thinking, making and perfecting sustainable political, socio-economic, cultural and environmental development institutions in a synchronous manner; tapping all potential and resources so as to create a new driver for the country’s rapid and sustainable growth.

It is necessary to complete the socialist-oriented market economic development institution, ensure macro-economic stability, and at the same time create a breakthrough in the fundamental and comprehensive reform of education and training, and develop high-quality human resources.

The resolution also outlines the goals of developing human comprehensively, building a progressive culture imbued with national characteristics, managing social development effectively and strictly, ensuring social and human security, and proactively adapting to climate change, giving the top priority to protecting the living environment and people’s health.

It emphasised the importance of determinedly and resolutely safeguarding independence, sovereignty, unification, territorial integrity; protecting the Party, State, people and socialism; maintaining political security, ensuring social order and safety, human security, economic security and cyber security; actively preventing the risk of wars and conflicts early and from afar; early detecting and promptly address unfavourable factors; and fighting to ruin all plots and activities of hostile forces.

Under the resolution, Vietnam will continue implementing the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, and multilateralisation and persification; actively stepping up comprehensive and intensive international integration; maintaining a peaceful and stable environment; and continuously improving the country’s international position and prestige.

The country will promote socialist democracy, people’s right to mastery and role of self-governance, continue to build and perfect a transparent and strong ruled-by-law socialist State, improve transparency and accountability, and intensify the combat against corruption and wastefulness, crimes and social evils.

It is also necessary to push ahead with the building and rectification of the Party, reform the method and capacity of leadership of the Party, and well handle major relations, and pay attention to ensure the socialist orientation in dealing with major relations.

Regarding key missions in the 13th tenure, the Resolution laid stress on the building of a clean and strong Party and political system, as well as a socialist rule-of-law State, renewing methods of the Party’s leadership and ruling, building a streamlined apparatus for the political system that operates in an effective fashion. It highlighted the significance of the fight against corruption, waste, “group benefits”, and manifestations of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” within the Party.

The resolution highlighted the task to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, provide inoculation on mass scale while recovering socio-economic development, reforming the growth model, promoting economic restructuring.

The country will strive to maintain independence, continue to enhance the quality and effectiveness of external relations and international integration; build up defence-security strengths, resolutely protect national independence, sovereignty, unification, territorial integrity, and maintain a peaceful and stable environment for development.

The country should intensify the management and effectively and rationally use of land and resources, and proactively deploy measures to respond to climate change and natural disasters.

Regarding strategic breakthroughs, the resolution underscored the necessity to complete synchronous institutions for development, first of all institutions for the socialist-oriented market economy.

The second is to develop human resources, especially high-quality workers; prioritise human resources for leadership and management affairs and key sectors.

The third breakthrough is to build a concerted and modern infrastructure network in terms of economy, society, environment, defence, and security, with priority given to the development of certain national key transport facilities; adapt to climate change.

The congress called on the whole Party, people, armed forces to promote patriotism, national spirit, socialist democracy, national unity, cultural values and development aspirations, to successfully implement the Resolution so as to develop the nation in a more rapid and sustainable fashion for a prosperous Vietnam which can keep up with powers across the five continents.