Proud of its 80-year tradition of construction and development, the Military Finance Sector continues promoting innovation, improving the quality and effectiveness of financial work, meeting the requirements of building the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA), strengthening national defence, and firmly safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation.

On 25 March 1946, President Ho Chi Minh signed Decree 34/SL on the organisation of agencies under the Ministry of National Defence (MND), including the decision to establish the Management Section (the predecessor of the present-day Finance Department under the MND), marking the birth of the Military Finance Sector - the body responsible for giving advice, direction, and guidance on financial management and support throughout the entire VPA.

The Finance Department’s 19th Party Congress for 2025 - 2030 tenure

Over the past 80 years, under the leadership and direction of the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the MND, together with the coordination and assistance of sectors, localities, and agencies and units both inside and outside the VPA, generations of officers, soldiers, professional servicemen, and defence workers and employees in the Military Finance Sector have upheld the VPA’s noble qualities and glorious traditions. They have consistently followed the VPA’s tasks in each revolutionary stage, upholding solidarity, creativity, thrift, and self-reliance, proactively overcoming difficulties, excellently fulfilling their functions and assigned tasks, thereby greatly contributing to the VPA’s development and the cause of national liberation, construction, and protection.

Inheriting and promoting that glorious tradition, in recent years, the Military Finance Sector, particularly the Finance Department, has continued giving sound advice to the CMC and MND on state management of finance within the VPA. The Sector has closely followed practical requirements and coordinated with central agencies, localities, and units to adopt numerous solutions for renewing and improving financial work. It has given advice on building and renewing mechanisms of financial resource allocation, supplementing and perfecting mechanisms for financial and budgetary leadership and management, and innovating methods of financial support within the VPA in line with the requirements set by a reform in the State’s economic and financial mechanisms, policies, and laws as well as the particularities of national defence. It has also given advice on realising the CMC’s Resolution 915-NQ/QUTW, dated 25 August 2018, and the MND’s Project “Renewing the mechanism of financial management in the VPA in accordance with the 2015 State Budget Law, for the period of 2018 - 2025 and beyond”, making a breakthrough in innovating budget estimation and allocation fundamentally, comprehensively. Due to the State’s limited budget, it has actively provided advice on mobilising resources and directed budget management strictly, openly, transparently. It has proactively balanced resources comprehensively and allocated budgets in a focalised manner, ensuring timely support for both regular and irregular tasks as well as key missions under the orientation of the CMC and MND, helping strengthen military and defence potential and contributing to the country’s macroeconomic management achievements and financial field amid increasingly extensive and intensive international integration.

Implementing the policy of building an “adept, compact, strong” VPA in the new situation, on 5 March 2025, the Minister of National Defence issued Decision 767/QĐ-BQP on merging the Department of Economics, the Department of Finance, and the Department of Planning and Investment into the Finance Department under the MND. This is an important milestone marking a new stage of development of the Military Finance Sector in terms of organisational scale, function, and task. Accordingly, the Finance Department performs the function of assisting the Minister of National Defence in exercising state management in all finance, planning and investment, and economic fields across the VPA. With a strong consensus with the policy of higher authorities and with seriousness and determination, within a short period of time, the Finance Department has quickly reorganised and stabilised its structure and operations in a disciplined, standardised, effective fashion, without any disruption or interruption in any aspect of its work.

The signing of Memorandum of Understanding between the Finance Department of Vietnam’s MND and the Finance Department of the Lao Ministry of National Defence

At present and in the coming years, together with the entire country, the whole VPA is focusing on thoroughly grasping and vigorously implementing the Resolution of the 14^th National Party Congress with strategic breakthrough decisions regarding organisational restructuring, socio-economic development, and defence and security consolidation. The entire Military is performing many major, breakthrough tasks and programmes; numerous strategic investment projects are being carried out to build a modern VPA and strengthen military and defence potential and power for protecting the Fatherland. Financial demands will be very high, while the State’ budget remains limited; that situation will lead to demanding tasks and considerable difficulties for military financial work. Against that backdrop, the Military Finance Sector will keep promoting its heroic tradition and synchronously adopting solutions to improve its task performance, with a focus on the following.

First, proactively grasping situational developments and enhancing the capacity to advise party committees and commands at all levels, especially at strategic level, on financial work. Financial agencies at all levels should continue thoroughly grasping military and defence tasks, Resolution 1661-NQ/QUTW, dated 20 December 2022, by the CMC on leadership over financial work towards 2030, the CMC’s regulations on strengthening the direct leadership and direction of party committees and commands at all levels over financial, planning and investment, and defence - economic activities within the VPA, together with directives and orders from higher echelons as the basis for improving the work of giving advice to leaderships and commands at all levels, especially strategic level. In the immediate future, the entire Sector should focus on giving advice to the CMC and MND on solutions to effectively implement financial support tasks for military and defence work in the period of 2026 - 2030. Priority should be given to investment in building a modern VPA, especially researching and manufacturing weapons and technical equipment, developing science and technology, stepping up innovation and digital transformation, and building an autonomous, self-reliant, modern, dual-use defence industry. It is also necessary to effectively implement the medium-term public investment plan funded by the State’s budget in the period of 2026 - 2030 for military and defence missions and socio-economic development combined with defence and security. The Project on renewing financial management mechanisms in the VPA should be further improved, especially at grass-roots level; due attention should be paid to shifting from “pre-inspection” to “post-inspection”, promoting decentralisation and delegation of authority, aligning the responsibility of unit commanders with financial and budget management and use.

Second, adopting professional measures and tools synchronously to further raise the quality of managing and using budget, finance, and assets. The Finance Department should continue enhancing the management and use of budget, finance, and assets in an effective, open, transparent way and strict compliance with the law and financial principles, closely combining financial support with financial supervision. It should continue maintaining major balances and giving guidance to other sectors and units on creating and mobilising financial resources in accordance with the State’s laws and the MND’s regulations. It should proactively balance resources and adjust expenditure structures properly, and ensure all-round support for tasks, with priority given to training, combat readiness, exercises, policies and living standards for troops, procurement, production, repair, upgrading, and modernisation of weaponry, and key programmes and projects under the orientation of the CMC and MND. It is essential to continue giving guidance on price management; procurement mechanisms should be supervised closely; openness and transparency in bidding, price appraisal, and approval of defence product prices should be guaranteed. Decentralisation and delegation of authority in inspection, supervision, and use of financial resources and assets should also be promoted.

Rewarding collectives and individuals with outstanding achievements in 2025

Financial agencies at all levels need to proactively advise party committees and commands to effectively manage and use finance and assets, urge faster expenditure and disbursement, and ensure strict financial supervision before, during, and after spending. Besides, synchronised measures should continue to be implemented to promote practice of thrift and prevent negativity and waste in all stages and fields of financial and investment activities.  

Third, continuing to develop and perfect mechanisms and policies on military financial work to meet the task requirements in the new situation. Our Party identifies institutional renewal and improvement as one of the strategic breakthroughs that will play a guiding role and create the foundation and driving force for national development in the new stage. For that reason, the Military Finance Sector should continue conducting research and proposing the issuance of a synchronised system of legal normative documents on financial, investment, and economic activities consistent with the renewal of the State’s financial and economic mechanisms and policies in the new situation. Emphasis should be placed on advising the CMC and MND to release resolutions and regulations on leadership over financial, construction investment, production, and economic development activities within the VPA, drafting a circular on promulgating the Regulations for Financial Work within the VPA, supplementing and perfecting processes and regulations on financial, public asset, and defence land use and management within the MND. The Sector should work with competent agencies on a Prime Minister’s Decision to issue the organisational and operational Charter and the management and use Regulations for the National Defence and Security Industry Fund.

Furthermore, efforts should be intensified to develop and complete the system of norms and standards for expenditure in various sectors and fields, submit proposals to competent agencies on issuing and amending salary and allowance regimes for forces as well as preferential treatment policies for personnel working in border, sea, island, remote, isolated areas, for forces performing C and K tasks, and for the Project “Policies to attract and utilise talents for the VPA towards 2030, with a vision towards 2050”, in line with the country’s socio-economic development and the particularities of national defence.

Fourth, building an “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong Military Finance Sector on a par with its task requirements in the new situation. Based on the results of the Sector’s recent organisational restructuring, the Finance Department will continue adhering to the guidance and direction of the CMC and MND, actively giving advice on organising financial agencies at all levels, especially building an “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong Finance Department and developing a pool of financial officers and employees across the VPA who are sufficient in number, politically steadfast, comprehensively capable, standardised in qualifications, and equipped with knowledge and skills in information technology and digital transformation. They must possess a scientific working style and the ability to detect issues, accurately forecast situational developments, and provide timely, correct, sound advice and measures. Coordination and direction should be strengthened so that financial agencies at all levels can effectively advise party committees and commands on financial personnel preparation, planning, and utilisation to meet both long-term and short-term requirements. Grasping and realising the direction of General Secretary To Lam, the Military Finance Sector needs to further renew its working methods, strictly maintain working discipline, and strengthen measures to protect internal political security. Breakthrough efforts should be devoted to stepping up regularity building and digital transformation in financial work, raising the quality of the emulation movement entitled “Building Units with Good Financial Management”, promoting combined strength and creating clear changes in improving the quality of professional work.

Bringing into play its heroic tradition and achievements gained over the past 80 years, the Military Finance Sector will continue striving to successfully fulfil its functions and assigned tasks, contributing to successfully performing military and defence work and firmly safeguarding the Socialist Vietnamese Fatherland in the new era.

Lt. Gen. NGUYEN HONG LAM

Director of the Finance Department