In an article written on the occasion of the successful conclusion of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Party General Secretary To Lam recalled President Ho Chi Minh’s call to action, “Forward! Total victory will be ours!” and emphasised that today the late President’s appeal still surges with momentum, “spurring us to strengthen our resolve, overcome poverty and backwardness, and build a prosperous and happy country.”

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist
Party of Vietnam To Lam has highlighted the success of the 14th National Party
Congress, saying it represents a powerful convergence of the will, aspirations,
and determination of the entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army,
crystallising the nation’s intellect and desire to rise.

In an article written on this occasion, the Party chief recalled
President Ho Chi Minh’s call to action, “Forward! Total victory will be ours!”
and emphasised that today the late President’s appeal still surges with
momentum, “spurring us to strengthen our resolve, overcome poverty and
backwardness, and build a prosperous and happy country.”

Vietnam Economic Times respectfully introduces the full text of the article, through a
translation by the Vietnam News Agency:

             FORWARD! TOTAL VICTORY WILL SURELY BE OURS!

                                                      To Lam

General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of  Vietnam

The 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam
has just concluded with great success, marking a particularly momentous
political event that opens a new era of development for the country. The
Congress represented a powerful convergence of the will, aspirations, and
determination of the entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army,
crystallising the nation’s intellect and desire to rise. The Congress’s guiding
principle – “Solidarity–Democracy–Discipline–Breakthrough–Development”
– is not merely a slogan, it is truly a call to action and a mandate of
responsibility before history, affirming an unshakable belief in the path
chosen by the Party, President Ho Chi Minh, and our People.

With thorough, rigorous, and scientific preparation and
broad-based input from across the Party and the people, the documents adopted
at the 14th Congress reflect strategic vision and the highest level of
political resolve. Notably, for the first time in the history of Party
congresses, the 14th Congress issued an Action Programme accompanying the
Resolution – a breakthrough aimed at ensuring that the Resolution is put into
practice immediately. From guidelines to planning and implementation,
responsibilities are clearly defined: who does what, when it is done, what
resources are required, and what the ultimate objectives are. As a result, the
Resolution of the 14th Congress has truly become an action handbook for the
Party and the entire political system, a “guiding
torch” lighting the way forward on the country’s new development path.

The Resolution of the 14th Congress sets out exceptionally
clear, bold yet feasible overarching goals for the 2026–2030 period, with a
vision through 2045: maintaining a
peaceful and stable environment; advancing rapid and sustainable national
development; comprehensively improving the People’s living standards; and
strengthening self-reliance and resilience to move confidently into the
nation’s new era. More importantly, the 14th Congress’s documents translate
this spirit of decisive action into concrete terms. The Action Programme
accompanying the Resolution places particular emphasis on the requirement to “make the right choices – implement quickly
– follow through to the end – measure performance by results” across all
tasks. Every major policy decision of the Congress has been developed into a
practical implementation plan, with clearly defined objectives, solutions, and
evaluation criteria. The principle of “the
People as the roots” runs throughout: the People are placed at the centre
and as the subject of development, with all policies aimed at improving their
material and spiritual well-being; while upholding respect for, listening to,
and fully harnessing the People’s role as masters of the nation. As a result,
the Resolution of the 14th Congress goes beyond vision and orientation,
carrying the pulse of real life, inspiring a renewed aspiration for development
and a powerful momentum for action, ready to be translated into practice
immediately after the Congress.

From resolution to
action

With the Resolution in place and the Programme clearly
defined, what remains is action. The Congress requires Party Committees at all
levels to swiftly disseminate, study, and translate the Resolution into
programmes and plans tailored to their respective localities and units,
promptly putting both the Resolution and the Action Programme into practice.
The overarching imperative is a decisive shift from “talk” to “action,” from
awareness to implementation. The Congress documents make clear the need to
resolutely and thoroughly address the problems of “talking much but doing little,” “saying well but doing poorly,”
and “saying one thing and doing another,”
and to put an end to bureaucratic, formalistic working styles. Every Party
Committee, every Party Organisation, and every cadre and Party member,
especially those in leadership positions, must heighten their sense of
responsibility and lead by example in turning decisions into reality. From now on,
“words must be matched by deeds” must
become a guiding principle of action; every policy and task must clearly define
objectives and solutions, link responsibility to results, align breakthroughs
with sustainability, and ensure that discipline in implementation is measured
by the People’s satisfaction.

Entering a new phase, every sound guideline, once adopted,
must be carried out with tenfold
determination and a hundredfold
effort in practice; political resolve must be at its highest, effort at its
strongest, and action at its most decisive – an imperative arising from the
nation’s will and aspiration for development. From the central to grassroots
levels, from Party and State agencies to the Vietnam Fatherland Front and
socio-political organisations, all must move forward in unison with a renewed
sense of momentum; in this process, every cadre and Party member – above all,
each member of the Party Central Committee – must lead by example, daring to
think, to speak, to act, to take responsibility, and to innovate for the common
good, with service to the People as the highest measure of work effectiveness

The next 5–10 years

The coming 5–10 years will be a pivotal period of decisive
significance for the country’s two centenary strategic goals. Within this
relatively short timeframe, we must both complete the objectives of the
2026–2030 period and lay a solid foundation for reaching higher development
milestones by 2045. The goal for 2030 is to transform Vietnam into a country
with modern industry and upper-middle income status. This requires the economy
to sustain average annual growth of 10% or higher over many consecutive years –
an unprecedented breakthrough pace, yet an entirely feasible target if all
resources are fully mobilised and effectively utilised. By 2045, we must
resolutely achieve the goal of building a developed, high-income Vietnam on par
with leading countries worldwide.

With limited time and heavy, decisive tasks, the 14th
Congress set out revolutionary and breakthrough orientations and solutions to
seize every opportunity and overcome all challenges. Over the next five years,
we must accelerate comprehensively across all key areas: the economy must make
strong breakthroughs to achieve sustained high growth; science, technology and
innovation must be vigorously promoted as a driving force for development; and
institutional reform, together with improvements to the investment and business
environment, must be pursued resolutely and transparently to unleash all social
resources. At the same time, social sectors such as education, health care and
culture must receive attention and investment commensurate with economic
growth, ensuring harmonious and sustainable development. The building and
rectification of the Party and the political system continues to face very high
requirements, particularly in the building of a contingent of officials equal
to their tasks – those who are “truly
exemplary in moral qualities, intellect and mettle, and fully capable of
leading the successful fulfillment of the major missions entrusted by the
Party, the State and the People.”

The 14th National Party Congress term is an exceptionally
important period for the entire Party and the entire people to achieve the
highest accomplishments in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Party’s
founding (2030). From now on, the mindset of “five-year action with a twenty-year vision” must be thoroughly
embedded in leadership and governance. This means that successfully fulfilling
the immediate five-year objectives will at the same time lay a solid foundation
for goals in the years ahead. The sound and breakthrough decisions taken today
will not only deliver immediate results for the 2026–2030 period, but will also
generate momentum for a leap in development in the decades to come. If we seize
opportunities and overcome the challenges of this pivotal 5–10-year period, the
country will undoubtedly take off strongly, turning into reality the aspiration
of building a powerful Vietnam by the mid-21st century. Conversely, if opportunities
are missed or delays and mistakes occur during this critical juncture, the cost
will be extremely high – potentially squandering the opportunity of an entire
nation and causing the country to fall further behind in a rapidly changing
world. Fully aware of this, the entire Party and people are determined to act
with speed and resolve from the very start of the term, allowing “not a single day to be wasted, not a single
week to be delayed.”

Rising above
challenges

Looking ahead, we have no option other than success. The
14th Congress has ignited the flame of invincible confidence, placing upon the
entire Party and the entire people a historic responsibility that is
extraordinarily heavy yet profoundly honourable. Ahead lie many difficulties
and challenges, but the Party allows no room for hesitation or failure on the
chosen path. Standing alongside the Party are the trust, affection and
expectations of more than 100 million compatriots, and before us lies the fate
of the entire nation in the 21st century. The goal of “a prosperous people, a strong country, democracy, equity and
civilisation” set by the Party is not merely an aspiration, but a solemn
pledge of honour to the People. Therefore, every official and Party member,
especially those who “bear the main
responsibilities” must constantly remind themselves to rise higher and
overcome their own limitations. We cannot afford to delay reform, we cannot
afford to hesitate in action, and we certainly cannot allow complacency or rest
on past laurels. Lessons from previous terms show that wherever there is strong
political resolve and focused, unified and hands-on leadership, work progresses
positively; conversely, where there is laxity, complacency or a lack of
determination, even the soundest policies are difficult to translate into
success.

History has proven this: our Vietnamese nation has never
bowed to any enemy or hardship. From the earliest days of nation-building and
nation-defence, our forebears forged a tradition of resilience and
indomitability: the greater the hardship and trial, the greater the unity and
shared resolve to achieve victory. In the twentieth century, under the Party’s
leadership flag, our nation achieved victories that were “resounding across the
five continents and shaking the globe”. In the new era, on the front of
socio-economic development, we must all the more bring into full play the
spirit of “never retreating, never faltering, only moving forward, advancing
ceaselessly”. Our Party and our People are determined to secure victory in the
cause of building and defending the socialist Fatherland, for every delayed
step and every unfulfilled objective affect the future of the entire nation.
“Success, certain success!” – that is the mindset, the political resolve that
we engrave deeply in our hearts as we embark upon the implementation of the
Resolution of the 14th Congress.

In a world context marked by constant turbulence, never before
have opportunities and challenges been so intricately intertwined as they are
today. The destiny of the country depends on our ability to seize opportunities
and overcome challenges. Intensive and extensive international integration
means that Vietnam faces mounting competitive pressures, yet it also opens
doors to the acquisition of knowledge, advanced technology, and development
resources from abroad. Economic globalisation provides large markets for
Vietnamese goods and services, but it also requires us to continuously enhance
our endogenous capacities in order to ascend to higher rungs of the global
value chain. Geopolitical fluctuations worldwide may affect the environment of
peace and stability – the prerequisite for development – and therefore the task
of firmly safeguarding independence, sovereignty, and a peaceful environment
becomes ever more vital. The new context demands new thinking and new vision:
we must be strategically proactive, constantly vigilant and perceptive in
analysing developments, flexible and creative in our responses, steadfast in
principles yet not dogmatic or rigid.

With the mettle and intellect of the Vietnamese nation, and
with the trust, unity, and consensus of the People, we can affirm that
favourable conditions will outweigh challenges. The position and strength of
the country, after more than half a century of reunification, have grown
stronger than ever before, creating the foundation for us to rise with
confidence. The steadily increasing reputation and standing of Vietnam on the
international stage constitute favourable conditions for mobilising the support
and cooperation of international friends. What is essential is that we maximise
internal strength while harnessing external resources, transforming this
combined power into a driving force for national development. Proactive
adaptation and vigorous promotion of innovation are precisely the keys that
will enable Vietnam to weather storms and advance steadily in an era full of
volatility.

Certain Victory

At this special moment, more than ever, the words of beloved
President Ho Chi Minh continue to resound: “Forward! Total victory will surely be
ours!” That call to action from Uncle Ho in those earlier days became
an invincible belief, inspiring our entire nation to rise up and win
independence and freedom. Today, in the cause of building and defending the
Fatherland, that call still surges with momentum, spurring us to strengthen our
resolve, overcome poverty and backwardness, and build a prosperous and happy
country, standing shoulder to shoulder with friends across the five continents.

Nearly six million Party members and more than 100 million
compatriots carry within their hearts a flame of aspiration for a strong and
powerful Vietnam. The 14th Congress has entrusted us with the banner of
decisive victory. Now is the time for the entire Party, the entire people, and
the entire army to tighten ranks, unite in common purpose, and vigorously
emulate one another in labour, study, work, and combat, in order to
successfully implement the Resolution of the Congress. Now is the time to turn
every guideline and resolution into action and concrete results. The future and
destiny of the country urge us to act – to act with even greater determination.
The entire Party, the entire people, and the entire army act together in the
spirit of “each person working twice as hard”, armed with new knowledge,
supported by science and technology, under the guiding light of the Party; we
act with indomitable will, advancing on all economic, cultural, and social
fronts like “soldiers in peacetime”, and as a result, the effectiveness
generated will be tenfold, a hundredfold. From our unwavering faith in the
leadership of the Party and in the strength of the People, we together proclaim
in unison: “Under the glorious flag of
the Party, for the bright future of the nation, advance forward, victory is
certain”.

Forward! Total victory will surely be ours!

VNA-