Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (Photo: VNA) Berlin (VNA) – Germanhistorian and veteran journalist Gerhard Feldbauer has hailed the significanceof Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong’s article “Several theoretical andpractical issues on socialism and the pathway towards socialism in Vietnam”.
Feldbauer said the article gave acomprehensive, insightful and thorough analysis of the path chosen by Vietnamsince the victory of the August Revolution 1945. He pointed out that throughout its leadership process, the Communist Party of Vietnam creatively applied Marxism-Leninism in the country’s specific conditions to deal with various complex and difficult issues, providing valuable experience to not only Vietnam but also many countries in the world.
Gerhard Feldbauer stressed that the CPV and its members have stayed consistent to the road of building socialism. He noted that the CPV now has more than 5.1 million members, 60 percent of whom are young people, which refuted allegations that young Vietnamese are no longer interested in politics or socialism.
According to him, Vietnam ison the way toward a modern and socialist-oriented industrialised economy. Fromits starting point as a poor nation due to war aftermaths, Vietnam has become one of the world’s mostvibrant and fastest-growing economies in Southeast Asia with an annual growthof 6-8 percent before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since it began the renewal process,Vietnam has signed a number of bilateral deals and joined internationalorganisations such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and mostrecently the European Union – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA).
On the back of the EVFTA, Vietnam became theEU’s second biggest trade partner in ASEAN. In 2018, Vietnam exported goods andservices worth over 35 billion EUR to the EU, mostly apparel, mobile phones andaccessories and spent over 10 billion EUR on goods from the bloc.
About challenges faced by the country on thepath toward socialism, Feldbauer said the key point is to affirm the leadership of the CPV and defeat every attempt to lower or eliminate the role of the Party. He also suggested Vietnam crackdown on corruption and stay close with the people in all aspects.
He expressed his belief thatunder the CPV’s leadership, Vietnam will always overcome any difficultperiods in history.
Feldbauer also underlined the great role of President Ho Chi Minh in every victory of Vietnam’s revolution, and lauded the tireless and unyielding fighting spirit of the Vietnamesepeople, considering it a prerequisite for successes of the Vietnam’srevolution.
Feldbauer, 88, used to work as a reporter of the German Democratic Republic’s ADN news agency in Hanoi. He and his wife – photo correspondentIrene, worked in Hanoi from 1967 to 1970. With a doctoral degree on Vietnam history, he wrote 15 books, four of them aboutVietnam./.
