Developing socio-economy, “Maintaining a peaceful and stable environment”, represents the primary goal identified in the draft Political Report of the 13th Party Central Committee at the 14th National Congress of the Party. Successfully implementing this goal will provide an important premise for the country to develop rapidly and sustainably, while firmly protecting the Fatherland in the new development era of the country.

In the thousands-of-years-history of the Vietnamese nation, there have been times the country enjoyed extremely brilliant development, but perhaps never before has our country attained such conditions, potentials, position and international prestige as it does today. In particular, after half a century of national reunification and nearly 40 years of implementing the renewal cause, with efforts and creativity, great achievements of historical significance have been achieved, clearly changing the face of the country, and significantly improving the living standards of the People. In recent years, along with the victory of the renewal cause, international integration has been deployed both extensively and intensively by our Party and State. Vietnam has established relations with almost all countries that are members of the United Nations; and strategic partnerships, comprehensive strategic partnerships with all major powers in the world.

Successfully achieving the major goals in the recent era of unification and renewal is the premise and favourable condition for our country to enter a new era. Therefore, General Secretary To Lam has launched a new revolutionary journey for our country, which is to firmly enter a new era, the era of national rise. That is the era of development and prosperity under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam, successfully implementing the strategic goal that by 2030, Vietnam will become a developing country with modern industry and high average income; by 2045, it will become a developed country with high income. This call strongly arouses national spirit, the sense of independence, self-reliance, and the aspiration to develop the country quickly and sustainably to a new height and a new level of national independence and socialism. The orientation to enter the era of the nation's rise is consistent with the development logic of the Vietnamese revolution and the trend of the times.

In order to gain fast and sustainable development in the new era, the draft Political Report of the 13th Party Central Committee at the 14th National Congress of the Party identifies the top goal as promoting socio-economic development and maintaining a peaceful and stable environment. This is a strategic goal and a top important condition for national development that has been identified by previous congresses of our Party. To realise that goal, our Party has advocated synchronous implementation of strategic tasks, in which socio-economic development and environmental protection are the focus; Party building is the key task; cultural and human development are the foundation; strengthening national defence and security and promoting foreign affairs and international integration are essential and regular. To realise the goal of socio-economic development, maintain a peaceful and stable environment, and bring the country firmly into the era of national development, it is necessary to implement the following main contents:

Firstly, promote economic development, take care of socio-cultural issues, and improve the material and spiritual life of the people. This is the primary goal and issue that the 14th Congress should care for in order to maintain a peaceful and stable environment for the country. Accordingly, the policies towards economic sectors of our Party and State are all aimed to liberate production capacity, mobilise all internal and external resources for industrialisation, modernisation, improve socio-economic efficiency, and improve people's lives. Proactively innovate, develop and improve the efficiency of the state economy and cooperative economy, in which the state economy plays a leading role, private economy is the most important driving force for development, is the pioneer force in applying science, technology and innovation; establish, consolidate and enhance the mastery status of workers in the social production, and increasingly better implement social equality; Implement various forms of distribution, basing mainly on labour results and economic efficiency, while distributing based on the contribution of other resources to production and business efficiency and distributing through social welfare; strengthen the effectiveness of the State's macro-management, fully exploit the positive role while overcoming, preventing and limiting the negative impacts of the market mechanism; maintaining independence and sovereignty and protect national interests in foreign economic relations.

Overview of the 12th plenum of the Party Central Committee (13th tenure)

Continue and strengthen the innovation of economic management mechanisms, build a synchronous market mechanism with State management and socialist orientation. Applying the market mechanism requires the enhancement of State management, while fully establishing the autonomy of economic units, in order to promote positive impacts while preventing and limiting negative aspects of the market. The State manages the market by law, plans, policies, mechanisms, economic leverage tools and by the material forces of the State economic sector. At the same time, the State needs to perform well the following functions: orienting development, directly investing in a number of fields to lead other economic sectors to develop together; establishing a unified legal framework, with a suitable policy system to create a stable environment and development momentum; overcoming and limiting the negative aspects of the market mechanism; distributing and redistributing national income, managing public assets, and controlling all socio-economic activities. Attract foreign investment projects selectively, with priority for high-tech industries. Continue to complete and make strong breakthroughs in the construction of socio-economic infrastructure, especially multi-mode transport infrastructure, sustainable socio-economic development management infrastructure, digital transformation, green economy, and adaptation to climate change.

Along with that, our Party identifies culture as the spiritual foundation of society, a driving force for socio-economic development, and at the same time the goal of socialism. The core task of culture and arts is to contribute to developing Vietnamese people comprehensively in all fields, such as: politics, ideology, morality, soul, emotions, lifestyle, with good personalities. All aspects of cultural activities are aimed to build and develop an advanced culture, imbued with national identity, absorbing the quintessence of human culture. While establishing relations with the world, we always follow the motto: integrate but do not dissolve, not to lose ourselves, resolutely fight against hybrid and toxic cultures, etc.

The social policy system that we are implementing and continuing to perfect is based on the Party's major viewpoints; economic growth must be associated with social progress and equality in every step and throughout the development process. To ensure social peace and equality, it is necessary to resolutely fight against crime, smuggling, trade fraud, production and consumption of counterfeit and poor quality goods; prevent and combat corruption, negativity, waste, social evils, etc.

Second, strengthen national defence, security, and foreign affairs, promptly and effectively handle situations, and maintain a peaceful and stable environment. The relationship between national defence, security, and foreign affairs is inevitable and has the same origin, directly and comprehensively created and led by our Party; managed, operated, and built by the State; and supported and cared for by the People. Our Party identifies national defence, security, and foreign affairs as important pillars, three spearheads in the cause of national liberation, national defence, and national development. Maintaining and strengthening national defence and security is to protect the socialist regime, protect the Party, the State, and the people, and to protect the independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of the Fatherland. Our Party clearly states: “Strengthening national defence and security potential; building and strongly promoting the “people's heart and mind posture” in the all people’s national defence and people's security; building and firmly consolidating the national defence and people's security posture. Closely and effectively combining economy, culture, society, foreign affairs with national defence and security, and between national defence and security with economy, culture, society, and foreign affairs”. Strengthened national defence and security will provide strength to strengthen foreign affairs.

The history of our nation's existence and development is the history of the successful combination of the tasks of national construction and defence. That is the law of development of the country in the past, present and future. To do so, we must strengthen the construction and consolidation of a strong national defence and people's security, have a foreign policy and effectively carry out foreign affairs, create a sustainable peaceful environment, contribute to building and raising the country's position, and bring the country into the era of national development.

Third, promote socialist democracy, build a socialist rule-of-law state of the people, by the people and for the people. Building socialist democracy is both a goal and a driving force for social development, demonstrating the close relationship between the Party, the State and the People. Building a democratic society in which cadres, party members, civil servants and public employees are truly servants of the People. All policies and laws of the Party and State must reflect the will, aspirations and legitimate interests of the People, the nation and the people.

We advocate building a socialist rule-of-law State of the People, by the People, for the People, based on the alliance of the working class with the peasantry and the intelligentsia, led by the Communist Party. The power of the State is unified, with the division and coordination between State agencies in the exercise of legislative, executive and judicial powers. Implement the principle of democratic centralism in the organisation and operation of the State. Strengthen socialist legality, build a Vietnamese rule-of-law State that manages the society by law and in accordance with the law; at the same time, attach importance to education to improve socialist ethics, and strengthen the leadership role of the Party over the State.

Fourth, build the Party to meet the requirements of the new era. The Communist Party of Vietnam, founded and trained by President Ho Chi Minh, is the only force capable of leading the successful construction of socialism and firmly defending the socialist Fatherland of Vietnam. To undertake and fulfill its great mission in the new period, our Party needs to continue to exercise self-innovation, self-rectification, further improve its leadership capacity and fighting strength, overcome shortcomings, negative manifestations and weaknesses. Continue to streamline the Party's organisational apparatus and political system at all levels to make it lean, strong, effective and efficient. Strongly innovate decentralisation and empowerment, linked with accountability; improve the effectiveness of coordination in leadership, direction and administration. Focus on building a contingent of cadres at all levels, especially at the strategic level, with adequate qualities, capacity and prestige, meeting the task requirements. Special attention is paid to all aspects of Party building work, so that our Party is truly a party of intelligence, faith, morality, and civilisation, worthy of the leadership position and role assigned by the nation and the revolution.

The global, regional and domestic context has created a solid foundation for Vietnam to enter a new era with new promising prospects, but also posed new and extremely heavy requirements. Advantages and difficulties, opportunities and risks are intertwined, affecting the country's development. The 14th National Party Congress will set out guidelines, orientations and policies to proactively seize opportunities, actively participate in the process of cooperation and international division of labour; promote existing advantages and find comparative advantages to rise up, develop rapidly and sustainably, take advantage of existing strengths and forces, create new strengths and forces; at the same time, always be alert, determined to push back and overcome risks, especially the newly emerging ones, ensuring the sound and stable development.

Based on the practical situation, we strongly believe that Vietnam will confidently and firmly enter the new era with the chosen path, have enough strength and intelligence to move forward with the world and the times, and definitely achieve the goal of peace, independence, democracy, prosperity, and firmly advance to socialism./.

Professor, Dr. VU VAN HIEN