State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) presents flower to Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (Photo: VNA) Pretoria (VNA) – “The Diplomatic Society” newswire of South Africa on April 6 carried an article on the newly-elected leaders of the Vietnamese Party and State.
In the article, founder and Editor-in-Chief of the newswire Kirtan Bhana said world leaders, heads of international organisations and regional bodies have congratulated and acknowledged the election of the Vietnamese leaders. Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue were confirmed in their leadership roles after the deliberations and consultations of the 13th National Party Congress which wrapped up in February 2021.
The author noted that the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress stated that the country will “focus on measures to basically complete the elements of a socialist-oriented market economy, better handling the relationship between the State, the market and society. Vietnam’s development achievements, recognised prestige and elevated status over the past five years have created circumstances to realise its true potential.”
The election of the Politburo, the Secretariat, and the General Secretary of the Party reflected the effectiveness of the preparatory personnel work, which screened out unqualified or undeserving people from the Party Central Committee while including people with morality, talent, and a good reputation.
General Secretary Trong was re-elected to a third term while former PM Phuc was elected as President allowing him to stay among the country’s top leaders, providing a continuity of policy implementation. Hue, former Minister of Finance and former Deputy PM, has been approved as NA Chairman completing the top four roles in the Government.
According to the author, PM Chinh and his Government will prioritise international relations and diplomacy. He cited Deputy Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son as saying that Vietnam’s astute and pragmatic international relations and diplomacy has significantly contributed to maintaining a peaceful, stable environment favourable for national development, as well as national security.
The article highlighted that recently, Vietnam has set up comprehensive partnership with five more countries and upgraded relations with two others to a strategic partnership, raising the total number of its strategic partners to 17 and comprehensive partners to 13, including all permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and ASEAN member nations. The conclusion of five free trade agreements (FTA) positions Vietnam at the centre of a network of 16 regional FTAs that will attract significant resources and investment to the country.
Son was quoted as saying that diplomacy has played a significant role in raising the country’s position, as reflected through its hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in 2017, the World Economic Forum on ASEAN in 2018, the 26th Annual Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum in 2018, the summit between the US and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) in 2019, its ASEAN and AIPA Chairmanship last year, and non-permanent membership of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021./.
