Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who is also Secretary of the Central Military Commission, has asked the National Defence Academy to increase scientific research while closely combining the reality with the theory in order to promote Vietnam’s military art and culture.

The Party leader made the request at a ceremony to start the new school year at the academy in Hanoi on September 9.

Apart from serving the teaching of the academy, a national training centre of high-ranking officers, the research should contribute to building the country’s revolutionary military theory and perfecting the Party’s guidelines and policies, he said.

The top Party leader highlighted the need to always pay due attention to national defence and security, saying the task requires even more vigilance in peacetime.

He described the enhancement of national defence and security as well as social order and safety as the key and regular mission of the Party, State and the whole people, including the People’s Army and the People’s Police.

Given this, he pointed out several fundamental tasks for the academy during the 2013-2014 school year and the years beyond, including ceaselessly improving the quality of teaching with a mix of reality and theory.

The academy was also required to thoroughly grasp and actively develop the viewpoints of Marxism-Leninism, traditional culture and lessons of the nation.

The leader voiced his hope that the academy will utilise its achievements to expand international cooperation in training, helping train high-ranking officers for Laos and Cambodia.

The same day, Dinh The Huynh, Politburo member, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and head of its Commission for Popularisation and Education, attended a ceremony to mark the new school year at the Hanoi-based Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Public Administration.-VNA