Mexico City (VNA) – Voces del Periodista, an academic forum for Mexico’s press, has published a commentary by journalist Luis Manuel Arce Issac highlighting Vietnam’s profound transformation from a country bearing the heavy consequences of war into a dynamic economy increasingly integrated into the world.
Luis Manuel Arce devotes much of the article to recalling his years as a war correspondent for Cuba’s Granma daily. He said he had the honour of meeting President Ho Chi Minh, interviewing General Vo Nguyen Giap on several occasions, travelling across the country from north to south, and witnessing important moments in the struggle for national liberation and reunification.
The journalist said what particularly impressed him is not only the Vietnamese people’s victory in the struggle, but also their remarkable ability to recover and achieve strong development in peacetime.
According to the article, Vietnam’s progress over the past decades has turned President Ho Chi Minh’s aspiration for a country that would be more dignified and more beautiful into reality in ways that have far exceeded what was initially envisioned.
The article pays particular attention to the Doi Moi (Renewal) process, which it describes as a turning point that ushered Vietnam into a new period of development. According to the author, the implementation of far-reaching economic reforms based on a pragmatic approach has enabled Vietnam to gradually harness its national resources, boost production, expand trade, attract investment and deepen international integration. These achievements are all the more remarkable given that Vietnam entered peacetime after decades of war that had inflicted enormous human and material losses. From a country devastated by war, the nation not only completed national reunification and reconstruction but also gradually laid new foundations for socio-economic development.
In his view, Vietnam’s strength also lies in its ability to combine national development goals with the maintenance of its socialist orientation. The author said the Doi Moi policy have created a pragmatic development model, helping the nation emerge as one of the region’s dynamic economies.
The author places his memories of wartime Vietnam alongside images of a country undergoing rapid transformation today. In his view, this contrast demonstrates the scale of Vietnam’s achievements: from lands once ravaged by bombs to developed urban centres, and from an economy devastated by war to one with an increasingly high level of international integration.
The commentary also addresses Vietnam’s long-term development goals. By 2030, Vietnam aims to become a developing country with modern industry and upper-middle income, and by 2045, a developed, high-income, prosperous and happy nation. The author views these goals as a continuation of a development process built over many decades.
From the perspective of a journalist who directly witnessed the years of war, Luis Manuel Arce said Vietnam’s transformation is a vivid testament to the resilience and vitality of its people. If the immediate goals during the war were to secure national independence and reunification, Vietnam today is pursuing an even greater goal: building a developed, prosperous and happy country./.
VNA
