The Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences (VASS) on December 2 celebrated its 60 th founding anniversary in Hanoi with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong attending.

President Truong Tan Sang, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and National Assembly Chairman Nguyen Sinh Hung also sent baskets of flowers to congratulate the academy.

The Party chief praised the achievements and contributions the VASS has made over the past time, stressing scientists’ important role in clarifying basic theoretical issues regarding the country’s development in the new context.

Reviewing the academy’s development over the last six decades, VASS President Nguyen Xuan Thang said its predecessor - the research board of history, geography and literature - was founded amidst the fierce time of the war against the French in preparation for the country’s construction and development in the peaceful period.

The academy now has a network of 35 institutes and research centres, plus magazines, publishing houses and museums, and a staff of nearly 2,000 people, he said.

It has made public tens of thousands of scientific reports and projects via domestic and foreign magazines, with 20 winning the Ho Chi Minh award and 24 receiving the State award, and published more than 7,000 book titles.

Such reports and projects have guided the country’s socio-economic activities, helped extend people’s knowledge and enrich their spiritual lives, Thang added.

He said that the academy has established cooperative ties with more than 50 countries and organisations worldwide in the fields of research, personnel training and information sharing.

Thanks to its great contributions, the academy has been honoured with many noble awards of the Party and State such as the Independence Order, first class, the Ho Chi Minh Order and the Gold Star Order.

In the context that social science has become an indispensable tool of development strategies, plans and policies, the academy has accelerated research to provide scientific basics and work as an advisor for the Party and State, he said.-VNA