The seventh National Party Congress: Guiding the country in rising above challenges to step by step stabilise and develop in a dynamic and solid manner.

By implementing the sixth National Party Congress’ resolution, the national renewal recorded initial important achievements.
These included political stability and positive changes in the national economy with remarkable progress made in realizing the goals of three economic programmes. A multi-sectoral commodity economy was taking shape that operate with a market mechanism under the State’s management.

Social democracy was increasingly promoted, the people’s living conditions initially stabilised, national defence and security securely maintained and international relations expanded.

However, weaknesses and difficulties still remained in the national economy and a great number of pressing socio-economic problems were yet to be solved.

In addition, the world situation underwent complicated developments, particularly in the Soviet Union and socialist countries in Eastern Europe.

The Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee convened the seventh National Party Congress in Hanoi from June 24 to 27, 1991, which was attended by 1,176 delegates representing 2.1 million Party members nationwide.

The congress examined the implementation of the sixth National Party Congress’s resolution and summed up first-hand experiences drawn from the implementation of renewal.

It concluded that socialist orientations must be maintained in the renewal process, the renewal must be conducted in a comprehensive, simultaneous and thorough manner with appropriate moves, forms and ways, and the development of the multi-sectoral commodity economy must be coupled with enhancing the State’s management over socio-economic affairs.

The congress affirmed that Ho Chi Minh Thought and Marxism-Leninism was the ideological foundation and lodestar for the Party’s activities and Ho Chi Minh Thought was the creative application of Marxism-Leninism to Vietnam’s situation.

The congress elected a 146-member Central Committee of the Party and Do Muoi was elected Party General Secretary.

The eighth National Party Congress: Continuing renewal and speeding up industrialisation and modernisation.

The eighth National Party Congress took place in Hanoi from June 28 to July 1, 1996 with the participation of 1,196 delegates representing 2 million Party members nationwide and 40 foreign delegations.

The congress reviewed the renewal in the past decade to draw major lessons and defined the 1996-2000 period as an extremely important phase of the national industrialisation and modernisation.

In the period, the tasks were to mobilise all resources, seize opportunities, surmount challenges, push up the renewal process comprehensively and simultaneously, and continue to promote the development of the multi-sectoral economy that operates in line with the market mechanism under the State management and along socialist orientations.

The congress resolved to strive to achieve and surpass the goals adopted in the socio-economic stabilisation and development strategy to 2000, including posting a fast, highly-effective and sustainable economic growth rate, addressing burning social issues, ensuring national defence and security, improving the people’s living conditions, scaling up accumulation of internal economic strength, thus creating a solid premise for higher development at the beginning of the next century.

The congress elected a 170-member Central Committee, which elected a 19-member Political Bureau.

Do Muoi was re-elected Party General Secretary at this congress (to be continued)./.