As a mountainous province being seen as the “north-eastern frontier” of the nation, Cao Bang holds significant historical value as a revolutionary base, the “cradle” of the revolution, and the birthplace of the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army Team - the first standing military unit - the predecessor of the heroic Vietnam People’s Army. Upholding the revolutionary traditions, the Party Organisation, authorities, armed forces, and ethnic people of Cao Bang are determined to develop the province into a locality strong in politics, prosperous in economy, and robust in defence and security, befitting its historic significance.

For thousands of years, Cao Bang has been known as a historical land rich in cultural identity and of strategic importance on the nation’s frontier. Throughout history, ethnic communities of the province have upheld a strong tradition of patriotism, enduring hardships and sacrifices, uniting to resist foreign invaders and safeguard the nation’s border and sovereignty. Notably, in the early phase of our revolution, Cao Bang was chosen by the Party leadership as the starting point of resistance activities. On 28 January 1941, this sacred land proudly welcomed the return of Nguyen Ai Quoc (later known as President Ho Chi Minh) after 30 years abroad seeking a path to national liberation. With his visionary foresight, he chose Cao Bang - a land boasting all three critical elements of “favourable timing, geographical strength, and human harmony”, a place where offensive and defensive strategies could be effectively executed - as the first revolutionary base. 

A conference by the Provincial Military Party Committee to issue the Resolution for the 3rd quarter of 2024 and carry out a final review of 15 years of executing the Central Military Commission’s Resolution 590-CT/ĐUQSTW

During the pre-uprising period and the resistance war against French colonial rule, under the direct guidance of Uncle Ho, Cao Bang became the “cradle” of the revolution and the birthplace of the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army Team. As Pac Bo, Cao Bang emerged as the central revolutionary stronghold and headquarters of the resistance zone, this borderland witnessed numerous historic events tied to the name and image of President Ho Chi Minh in his quest to shape the nation’s destiny. Along with other localities, it contributed significantly to major milestones, including the August Revolution of 1945, the Victory of the Border Campaign in 1950, the Liberation of Cao Bang, the Victory of Dien Bien Phu Campaign in 1954, and ultimately the Great Victory of Ho Chi Minh Campaign in Spring 1975 which concluded the Liberation of the South and National Reunification. For its outstanding achievements in the struggle for national liberation, construction, and defence, the Party Organisation and people of Cao Bang have been honoured with numerous prestigious commendations by the Party and State.

Inheriting and upholding the revolutionary traditions of previous generations, the people of Cao Bang have made remarkable strides in recent years. Annual socio-economic development targets have consistently been met or exceeded. For many consecutive years, the province has maintained steady economic growth, with a positive shift in its economic structure. Significant cultural and societal progress has been achieved in cultural and social sectors, social welfare and security have been ensured, and the number of poverty and near-poverty households has declined rapidly. Also, the material and spiritual lives of the people continue to improve, unity among ethnic groups has been solidified, Party-building efforts have been prioritised, national defence and security have been strengthened, national border sovereignty has been meticulously managed and protected, political stability, public order, and safety in border areas have been firmly maintained. 

However, challenges persist. With a low starting point and a small-scale economy, Cao Bang faces limitations in workforce quality and labour productivity. Its rugged terrain and inadequate transport connections to regional development centres hinder progress, while harsh weather and natural disasters continue to pose significant obstacles. As a result, Cao Bang remains one of the poor provinces in the country, and many residents still face difficulties in their daily lives.

In response to these challenges, to successfully implement the 19^th Provincial Party Congress Resolution for the 2020 - 2025 term, the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People’s Council, and the Provincial People’s Committee are focusing on comprehensively adopting breakthrough solutions. With careful, flexible, and steady steps, the goal is to develop Cao Bang into a locality strong in politics, prosperous in economy, and robust in defence and security. The province is committed to “rapid, sustainable, and comprehensive” development, aiming to achieve a mid-level development status within the Northern Midlands and Mountainous Region by 2030.

First and foremost, the province focuses on fostering a spirit of self-reliance, resilience, and aspiration to thrive among its ethnic communities. To achieve this, the Provincial Party Committee Standing Board prioritises providing leadership and guidance to subordinate party committees, authorities, the armed forces, and the entire political system to maintain close connection with the people, especially in remote and disadvantaged areas. This aims to intensify efforts to disseminate and encourage the people to follow the Party’s lines and the State’s laws and policies. In addition, emphasis is placed on raising political awareness and determination among cadres, party members, and grass-roots authorities to ensure ideological alignment and coherence at all levels and foster unwavering confidence in the Party’s leadership. Alongside these efforts, the provincial government accelerates campaigns to abolish outdated cultural practices, small-scale and inefficient production models, and obsolete mindset, aiming to significantly reduce poverty rates and attract large-scale production projects. In the process, the province adheres to the principles of “people know, people discuss, people do, people supervise, people monitor, and people benefit” and “listening to the people, explaining to the people, and acting to earn the people’s trust”. These approaches help build solidarity, harness internal strength, collective intelligence, and creativity among the people, and inspire the pride in the province’s revolutionary heritage to promote proactive efforts in labour and production, reject dependency, and cultivate self-reliance mentality to achieve prosperity on their own home soil. Through innovative and practical methods tailored to specific areas and communities, the province continues to motivate cadres, party members, and people from all walks of life to actively take part in revolutionary movements. This transforms awareness and trust into action, leveraging the unique identity, cultural values, and character of Cao Bang’s people to unlock motivation, “turning impossibilities into possibilities”, overcoming challenges to build a wealthier and more civilised province. For sustainable success, Cao Bang focuses on developing exemplary economic models with high productivity and “green, sustainable” orientation. These models are scaled up to create widespread movements for socio-economic development, striving to keep pace with the progress of other provinces. According to President Ho Chi Minh’s guidance, the goal is to make Cao Bang “an exemplary province in building socialism in the North, just as it once took the lead in the revolutionary struggle for national liberation”.

To achieve its aspirations for progress, the province strengthens the leadership and direction of party committees, while enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of governance at all levels to fulfil socio-economic development and national defence and security tasks. By thoroughly implementing the Party Central Committee’s resolutions and the five key tasks and solutions outlined in the 19^th Provincial Party Congress Resolution, and by aligning with local realities and leveraging past experiences and achievements, the Provincial Party Committee focuses on effectively realising key goals and breakthrough areas. It mobilises all resources to address bottlenecks, capitalise on unique advantages, and create a strong impetus for socio-economic development, laying the foundation for solid national defence and security. In this framework, sectors and localities develop action programs and detailed implementation plans that are practical and aligned with local conditions. They also work to promptly address challenges and inefficiencies, while maximising potential and seizing opportunities to foster internal strength. 

When adopting these approaches, the Provincial Party Committee Standing Board places great emphasis on leading by example, particularly among leaders at all levels, in accordance with the principle of the “Seven Dares¹”. In addition, regular inspections and evaluations of the task performance progress, as well as timely reviews, comprehensive assessments and experience sharing are carried out across sectors and localities to ensure the sustainable outcome.

To translate resolutions into tangible results, the province concentrates on enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of governance at all levels. This includes stepping up administrative reforms, fostering a favourable environment for investment and business, and facilitating, mobilising, and efficiently utilising resources. Additionally, there are efforts to improve the implementation of Resolution 11-NQ/TU, dated 7 March 2022, by the Provincial Party Committee on “Building E-Government towards Digital Government, and Promoting Digital Transformation towards 2025 with Orientation towards 2030”, creating momentum for comprehensive and sustainable development in the upcoming years. 

With the aspiration for the people of this revolutionary homeland to benefit from all developmental achievements, and the goal of enabling Cao Bang to reach a mid-level development status within the Northern Midlands and Mountainous Region by 2030, the province is concentrating on socio-economic development to lay a solid foundation for strengthening national defence, security, and foreign relations. A top priority is swiftly addressing three critical “bottlenecks” that hinder development, namely infrastructure, workforce quality, and policy frameworks. To resolve these issues, the province is committed to implementing three strategic breakthroughs: (1). Developing tourism and services into a spearhead economic sector, positioning Cao Bang as a tourism hub in the Northern Midlands and Mountainous Region; (2). Promoting smart agriculture and the production of endemic goods linked to processing, branding, and enhancing the competitiveness of local products; (3). Boosting border trade to become a new drive for economic growth, turning Cao Bang into a key transit hub for goods between Vietnam, ASEAN, and Southwest China. To ensure the effectiveness of these breakthrough measures, the province is advancing three key programs: developing infrastructure; building a cohort of key officials at all levels and improving the local workforce quality; organising and reforming policy frameworks. Among these programs, infrastructure development is the top priority with a focus on modern, uniformed projects, particularly the Dong Dang - Tra Linh Expressway, providing a solid foundation for Cao Bang to prosper and achieve all-round development.

In implementing its strategies, Cao Bang also emphasises integrating socio-economic development with national defence and security tasks. Every economic, cultural, and social project is linked to the planned overall military posture within the defensive zone, ensuring that “each step in socio-economic development is a step forward in bolstering national defence and security”. The province also enhances its foreign relations, maintaining good-neighbourly friendship and cooperation with relevant agencies and units of neighbouring countries. Through increased people-to-people exchanges and partnerships, Cao Bang continues to build a peaceful, cooperative, and jointly developed border. 

Proud to be the birthplace of the Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army Team, the precursor to the heroic Vietnam People’s Army, Cao Bang focuses on building strong armed forces as the cornerstone of a robust all-people national defence posture. In light of the increasing demands of national defence tasks, the Provincial Military Party Committee prioritises making the armed forces strong in terms of politics, ideology, morality, organisation, and personnel. Multiple efforts are made to improve units’ overall quality and combat readiness to effectively handle defence and security challenges. In addition, military agencies at all levels are being developed comprehensively to be “exemplary and outstanding”, coupled with the establishment of a transparent and strong party structure within the Military. Furthermore, rigorous training, drills, and exercises are regularly conducted, alongside strict discipline and adherence to standard operational procedures, to maintain high combat readiness. The province also concentrates on strengthening its reserve force, ensuring they are well-organised, politically capable, and proficient in military and specialised skills. Furthermore, it continues to develop a high-quality, extensive militia and self-defence force to play a key role in activities, such as building new-style rural areas, disaster prevention and mitigation, disease control, search and rescue. Cao Bang is committed to fortifying the all-people national defence posture, integrating it with the people’s security and all-people border defence postures, creating favourable conditions for the province’s comprehensive and rapid development. 

On the occasion of the 80^th founding anniversary of the Vietnam People’s Army and the 35^th anniversary of the All-People National Defence Festive Day, the Party Organisation, authorities, armed forces, and people of Cao Bang remain united and determined to fulfil the goals of socio-economic, cultural development and defence - security consolidation, making Cao Bang ever more prosperous, modern, and worthy of its revolutionary heritage. 

TRAN HONG MINH

Member of the Party Central Committee

Minister of Transport

Former Secretary of Cao Bang Provincial Party Committee 

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1. Seven Dares: Dare to think, dare to speak, dare to act, dare to take responsibility, dare to innovate and be creative, dare to confront difficulties and challenges, and dare to act for the common good.