The General Secretary stressed that the 14th Party Central Committee solemnly pledges absolute loyalty to the Party’s goals and ideals; to place national and people's interests above all else and as the top priority; to firmly uphold independence and self-reliance; and to resolutely safeguard the Fatherland and protect the people.
The 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam held its closing session on Friday afternoon, concluding a closely-watched five-day convention that will shape the future of the country in the next five years.
At the closing session, on behalf of the Congress's Presidium, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man reported on the results of the elections to the Politburo, the General Secretary, the Secretariat, the Central Inspection Commission, and the Chairman of the Central Inspection Commission for the 14th term.
The 14th Party Central Committee, comprising 180 official members along with 20 alternate members, also made its debut before the Congress.
The closing session of the Congress was attended in full by members of the Congress Presidium.
Also present were former leaders of the Party, the State and the Vietnam Fatherland Front; former members of the Party Central Committee from the 4th to the 8th terms; Vietnamese Heroic Mothers; prominent intellectuals, scholars, artists and religious dignitaries; outstanding young people representing Việt Nam's younger generation; ambassadors, chargés d’affaires and heads of representative offices of international organisations resident in Vietnam; and ambassadors and chargés d’affaires of countries not resident in Vietnam.
On behalf of the Congress's Presidium, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man chaired the session.
Congratulatory letters
On behalf of the Congress's Secretariat, Le Quoc Minh, a member of the 14th Party Central Committee, Editor-in-Chief of Nhan Dan (People) newspaper, Deputy Head of the Central Commission for Information, Education and Mass Mobilisation, read out the list of political parties, organisations and international friends that had sent congratulatory letters and messages to the Party’s Congress.
By the time of the closing session, the Congress had received a total of 898 congratulatory letters, messages and statements from 167 political parties, 17 international organisations, 78 individuals, 242 political organisations, friendship organisations, people’s organisations and foreign localities, and 394 associations of overseas Vietnamese.
The congratulatory letters, messages and statements offered positive and comprehensive assessments of the Party’s leadership role and the country’s development orientation in the new period, affirming Vietnam's position as well as its increasingly effective contributions and efforts on the international stage. The Congress sincerely thanked political parties, international organisations, the diplomatic corps, international friends and overseas Vietnamese for their letters, messages and statements of congratulations, reflecting their close attention, confidence and support, and making an important contribution to the success of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam.
On behalf of the Congress, the 14th Party Central Committee will send letters and messages of thanks to political parties, organisations, international friends and associations of overseas Vietnamese.
Politburo election results
On behalf of the Congress's Presidium, NA Chairman Tran Thanh Man reported on the results of the elections to the Politburo, the General Secretary, the Secretariat, the Central Inspection Commission and the Chairman of the Central Inspection Commission for the 14th term.
The 14th Party Central Committee held its first plenary session and elected a 19-member Politburo.
The 14th Party Central Committee voted with absolute unanimity – 180 out of 180 official members – to elect Comrade To Lam, General Secretary of the 13th Party Central Committee, to continue serving as General Secretary of the 14th Party Central Committee.
The 14th Party Central Committee also voted to approve the composition of the 14th Secretariat, comprising 13 members, including 10 members of the Politburo assigned to participate in the Secretariat according to the prescribed structure, and three members elected at the first meeting of the 14th Party Central Committee.
Based on the nomination results of the Party Central Committee, the 14th Politburo assigned Comrade Tran Cam Tu, a member of the Politburo, to serve as Permanent Member of the 14th Secretariat.
Twenty-three members were elected by the 14th Party Central Committee to serve on the 14th Central Inspection Commission with a high level of confidence. The Party Central Committee also voted by a strong consensus to re-elect Comrade Tran Sy Thanh, Chairman of the 13th Central Inspection Commission, to continue serving as Chairman of the 14th Commission.
Top leader's pledge
Speaking on behalf of the 14th Party Central Committee, General Secretary To Lam expressed his profound gratitude for the confidence and trust placed in him by the entire Congress, describing it as both a great honour and a heavy responsibility before the Party and the People. He affirmed his determination to devote himself fully, with all his heart and strength, to serving the noble cause of the Party, the Revolution and the People.
The General Secretary stressed that the 14th Party Central Committee solemnly pledges absolute loyalty to the Party’s goals and ideals; to place national and people interests above all else and as the top priority; to firmly uphold independence and self-reliance; and to resolutely safeguard the Fatherland and protect the People.
The 14th Party Central Committee, he said, will work with the highest sense of example-setting, ensuring that words go hand in hand with actions, that tasks are carried through to completion, and that work for the People is done swiftly, correctly and effectively through strong leadership and organisational capacity. The effectiveness of serving the People will be the yardstick by which the leadership capacity, credibility and honour of each member of the 14th Party Central Committee are measured.
The re-elected General Secretary emphasised that the 14th Party Central Committee will continue to steadfastly build and rectify a clean and strong Party; preserve unity and solidarity within the Party; strengthen Party discipline and the authority of the law; improve mechanisms for controlling power; resolutely prevent and combat corruption, wastefulness and negative practices; practise thrift and oppose ostentation and formalism; and carry out personnel work effectively by assigning the right people to the right tasks, evaluating performance by results and measuring it by public trust.
Party chief To Lam underscored the importance of valuing and appointing those with integrity and talent, who dare to act, know how to act and can deliver results, while removing from the system opportunists, those who shirk responsibility, and those whose words are not matched by deeds, and resolutely combating “position-buying” and “power-buying”.
The 14th Party Central Committee expressed profound appreciation to members of the 13th Party Central Committee who did not stand for re-election, particularly key leaders and members of the Politburo and the Secretariat.
They were commended for their intellectual contributions, dedication and resolve in strengthening unity, fostering trust, and leading the entire Party, people and armed forces to successfully fulfil the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress. General Secretary To Lam expressed his hope that they would continue to pay attention, offer candid and constructive advice, pass on their experience to the next generation, and continue to contribute to the revolutionary cause of the Party and the People.
The General Secretary thanked the Congress for its confidence and trust; thanked the delegates for their dedication, wisdom and sense of responsibility; and expressed gratitude to compatriots and soldiers nationwide, overseas Vietnamese, and international friends for their constant attention to the Congress and for their affection and support for the Party.
“Before the Congress, before the Party and before the People, we commit to standing united, working with discipline, acting decisively and striving to the very end, to be worthy of the trust placed in us by the Congress, the Party and the People; and to resolutely lead the successful implementation of the Resolution of the 14th National Congress of the Party, steering the country towards strong and prosperous development in the new era,” the General Secretary emphasised.
General Secretary To Lam stressed that the 14th Congress documents set out major and important tasks that are both urgent and of long-term strategic significance, especially "improving and comprehensively enhancing people’s living standards, ensuring strategic autonomy, self-reliance and self-confidence in advancing boldly into the new era of the nation, successfully realising the goal of becoming a developing country with modern industry and upper-middle income by 2030, and to bring to fruition the vision of becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045, for a peaceful, independent, democratic, strong, prosperous, civilised and happy Vietnam, steadily advancing towards socialism.”
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