The 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) opened at the My Dinh National Convention Centre in Hanoi on Jan. 12.

 The congress is themed “Continuing enhancing the Party’s leadership capacity and combativeness, promoting the nation’s synergy, comprehensively boosting the doi moi (renewal) process, creating the fundamentals for Vietnam to basically become a modern-oriented industrial country by 2020”.

 It is attended by 1,377 delegates representing more than 3.6 million Party members, who depict the entire Party’s brainpower, agreement in will and strength of unity.

 The congress sees the attendance of the former Party General Secretaries, former State Presidents, former Prime Ministers, former National Assembly Chairmen, former Politburo members, former Party Secretaries, former Vice State Presidents, former Vice National Assembly Chairmen, and former Deputy Prime Ministers.

 It is also attended by representatives of Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, outstanding professionals, young people and members of the 10 th Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission.

 The Congress also sees the presence of ambassadors, charges d’affaires, and chief representatives of international organisations in Hanoi .

The Presidium of the Congress is consisted of all politburo members of the 10 th Party Central Committee, including Nong Duc Manh, Nguyen Minh Triet, Nguyen Tan Dung, Nguyen Phu Trong, Truong Tan Sang, Le Hong Anh, Pham Gia Khiem, Phung Quang Thanh, Truong Vinh Trong, Le Thanh Hai, Nguyen Sinh Hung, Nguyen Van Chi, Ho Duc Viet, Pham Quang Nghi and To Huy Rua.

 It is participated by Party Central Committee members: President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Huynh Dam, President of the Vietnam General Labour Confederation Dang Ngoc Tung, President of the Vietnam Farmers’ Association Nguyen Quoc Cuong, President of the Vietnam Women Union Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa, the first Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union Central Committee, Vo Van Thuong, (alternate Party Central Committee member), President of the Vietnam War Veterans’ Association Tran Hanh, Chairman of the Vietnam Technology and Science Institute Dr. Prof Chau Van Minh, Permanent Vice Secretary of the Kon Tum provincial Party’s Committee Y Mui and Binh Thuan provincial Party Committee member Nguyen Hoai Anh.

  Party Politburo member, State President Nguyen Minh Triet delivered the opening speech, saying the 11 th National Party Congress is an event of great significance, orienting the entire Party and the entire people and army to continue promoting the entire nation’s strength to speed up the renewal comprehensively and create a foundation for the country to become a basic modernised and industrialised country by 2020.

 “With our great gratitude, we (the congress) deeply commemorate President Ho Chi Minh, who founded, led and trained the Party, and is the hero of national liberation, great man of culture, and an eminent soldier of the liberation movement of colonised and oppressed nations world-wide,” Triet said.

 He affirmed, “reality and victories of our revolutionary cause over the past 80 years have confirmed that Ho Chi Minh Thoughts coupled with Marxism-Leninism have always served as the foundation and guidelines for activities undertaken by the Party and the Vietnamese revolution, a great and immensely valuable spiritual asset of our Party and the nation that led us from one victory to another, and a banner to gather and unite the nation in the national construction and defence cause at present and in the future.”

 After reviewing enormous achievements the country has gained during 20 years of implementing the renewal and analysing challenges the country will meet nowadays, President Triet emphasised the 11 th National Party Congress bears a huge historical responsibility to the entire nation.

 He laid stress on the need to look into the truth, speak the truth, and seriously uphold the sense of self-criticism to examine and evaluate all achievements gained as well as existing weaknesses and shortcomings in a objective and comprehensive manner and draw experiences and lessons learnt from the implementation of the 10 th Party Congress’s resolution and the 2006-2010 socio-economic development tasks, and the review of the 10-year socio-economic development strategy (2001-2010) and 20 years of implementing the Platform on National Construction in the transitional period to socialism.

 On that basis, the congress will decide supplements and development of the 1991 Platform, define the 10-year socio-economic development strategy (2011-2020), and map out orientations, goals and tasks for the 2011-2015 period.

 The President went on to say the Congress takes a responsibility for examining deeply and comprehensively the Party building work and the 10 th Party Central Committee’s leadership.

 It will elect a Central Committee for the 11 th tenure which will include outstanding members in terms of political virtue, revolutionary ethics, leading capacity, firmness, and brainpower to meet the increasing demand of the renewal, President Triet said.

 “We vow to do our best to bring into full play our brain, sense of responsibility, unity, and high consensus to accomplish at most all tasks set forth by the Congress, thus ushering in a new phase of development for our country and fulfilling the noble goal of making our country powerful with wealthy people and a democratic, just and civilised society to firmly advance toward socialism,” Triet concluded.

 A delegation of representatives of the capital city’s citizens, on behalf of the people nationwide, came to the event with a strong belief in the success of the 11 th National Party Congress and a new and bright period of development for the country.

 On behalf of the Presidium, Politburo member, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung expressed thanks to the Hanoi delegation and vowed to make the Congress a success.

 Party General Secretary Nong Duc Manh presented the 10 th Party Central Committee’s report on documents of the 11 th National Party Congress at the opening session.

The documents include the Platform for National Construction in the transitional period toward Socialism (supplemented and developed in 2011), the Socio-economic Development Strategy for the 2011-2020 period, the Political Report; a report on amendments and supplements to the Party Statute and a report reviewing the leadership and direction of the 10 th Party Central Committee.

 He stressed that during the preparation for the Congress, draft documents for submission to the Congress were tabled for discussion at the Party Congresses at all levels and made public to collect opinions from National Assembly deputies, Father Front members, mass organisations, revolutionary veterans, patriots, intellectuals, and people of all strata in and outside the country.

 Many valuable opinions contributed to the documents showed a high sense of responsibility to the Party and the country and a wish for the Party to become stronger and the country to develop strongly, Manh said.

 The Party Central Committee fully acquired appropriate opinions for supplementing and perfecting the documents, making them really the quintessence of brainpower of the entire Party and entire people and serving as guidances for activities in reality, he said.

 Reviewing five years of implementing the 10 th Party Congress’s resolution, he identified advantages brought about by the renewal process and international integration, as well as mentioning difficulties and challenges caused by deep-rooted weaknesses of the national economy.

He also mentioned natural disasters, disease epidemics, complicated developments in the region and the world, impacts from the global economic recession and financial crisis, as well as subversive and violence-incited activities and the “peaceful revolution” undertaken by hostile forces.

 By looking into those, Manh affirmed that in such circumstances, the entire Party and the entire people had exerted efforts to fight off difficulties and challenges and attained important achievements in implementing the goals and tasks set forth by the 10 th Party Congress.

 The national economy surmounted an array of difficulties and challenges to basically maintain stability of the macro economy and maintain a high growth rate, with all sectors posting steps of development, so the potential, strength and scale of the national economy has been enlarged.

 Improvements were made in the fields of education and training, science and technology, culture and other social domains while due attention was given to the protection of natural resources and the environment.

 The people’s living conditions were made better, politics and society stabilised, national defence and security reinforced, and national independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity maintained.

 The country’s external relations and international integration have been expanded, and its prestige and position in the international arena has been heightened.

Progress was made in promoting democracy and the national great unity bloc continued to be consolidated.

 The building of the law-ruled socialist state has been stepped up to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of its operation.

 The building and rectification of the Party has been boosted and gained positive outcomes.

 He stressed that the campaign “to study and follow the moral example of President Ho Chi Minh” recorded initial outcomes. The majority of Party members, state officials and people are confident on the Party and State, the renewal and the country’s development prospect.

 Looking back at over ten years of implementing the 2001-10 socio-economic development strategy, Manh said the country seized opportunities and advantages, overcoming numerous difficulties and challenges, reaped extremely important and huge achievements, and fulfilled a host of major goals of the strategy.

The economy grew quickly at an annual average rate of 7.2 percent and its structure shifted positively. Institutions for the country’s market economy to operate with socialist orientations continued to be perfected.

 In 2010, the country’s GDP recorded a 3.4-fold rise over 2000 as calculated in real prices.

 There was a five-fold rise in state budget collection and export value in the year over the past ten years while GDP per capita stood at 1,168 USD last year.

 Cultural and social fields recorded important gains in a wide range of aspects, socio-political stability maintained, defence and security reinforced and external relations and international integration boosted.

“After 20 years of implementing the 1991 Platform, we have gained huge achievements of historical significance,” Manh underlined.

 He affirmed the country initially carried out the renewal successfully to escape its less-developed status. The political system and the national great unity bloc were strengthened and enhanced.

 The country maintained its independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and its position and prestige on the international arena was elevated.

 Vietnam ’s synergy was amplified, creating a premise for the country to continue to grow more robustly on the socialist path.

 Manh said the overall goal set for the country when it accomplishes the transitional period to socialism will be a fundamental base completed for a socialist economy with suitable political, ideological and cultural superstructure so as to lay a foundation for the country to become a prosperous and happy socialist country.

 Between now to mid-21 st century, the entire Party and the entire people must exert efforts to build the country into a modern-oriented industrialised country to operate in line with socialist orientations, he underscored.

 Based on fundamental viewpoints and major orientations of the Platform and taking into account requirement and forecasts on the country’s real situation, “the 2011-20 socio-economic development strategy will look to continue speeding up industrialisation and modernisation and promoting fast, sustainable development, bringing into full play the entire nation’s strength, and make the country become a basic industrialised one that operates in line with socialist orientation”, said Manh.

He noted the overall goal of the strategy is to strive to turn the country into a basic industrialised and modernised one by 2020. It includes social and political stability, democracy, discipline, and consensus, remarkable improvements in the people’s material and spiritual life, maintenance of national independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, and higher position and prestige of the country in the world arena, thus creating a premise for a higher development level in the next phase.

 Truong Tan Sang, Politburo member and permanent member of the CPV Central Committee’s Secretariat read a review report on the CPV Central Committee’s leadership and guidance during the 10th tenure.

As many as 121 messages of congratulations from parties, organisations and international friends around the world, were cabled to the 11 th National Party Congress, constituting a vivid manifestation of international relations with the CPV and showing their immense support and encouragement to the Vietnamese people’s renewal initiated and led by the CPV.

 In the afternoon session, delegates will study and discuss documents of the congress.

 The 11 th National Party Congress will last until Jan. 19./.

 

(VNA)