General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee Nguyen Phu Trong was granted the Doctor Honoris Causa title in political science by the University of Havana (UH) to recognise his important contributions to Vietnam’s nation-building cause and practical and theoretical views he shared with Cuba at a ceremony in Havana on March 29 morning (local time).

A leader of the University of Havana presents the Doctor Honoris Causa title to CPV General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong (L)

General Secretary Trong thanked the UH and considered this as a vivid demonstration of the Communist Party of Cuba (PCC) and the Cuba State and people’s friendship towards Vietnam. He also appreciated the UH’s training of generations of Vietnamese students, many of whom have become leaders or leading experts in different fields in Vietnam

He then delivered a speech at the UH, focusing on the promotion of sustainable development and social equality as seen from Vietnam’s reforms.

The event, broadcast live on national radio and television channels of Cuba, was also attended by Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, Politburo member and First Vice President of the Councils of State and Ministers of Cuba, along with many leaders of Cuban ministries and sectors.

Addressing UH lecturers and students and Cuban officials, the CPC leader, who is on a State visit to the Latin American nation, talked about Vietnam’s efforts to settle issues relating to sustainable development and social equality, noting that harmoniously solving the relationship between sustainable development and social equality reflects the pre-eminence and humanism of socialism that Vietnam and Cuba are building.

He stressed the CPV’s consistent viewpoint of putting human at the centre of the development strategy, seeing human as both the target and the driving force of development.

Vietnam targets rapid and sustainable development as well as harmonious combination of economic growth and social progress and equality, which matches regional and global agenda, including the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

[Vietnam, Cuba look to boost economic relations to new height]

In Vietnam, the Doi moi (Renewal) over the last three decades is an intensive and comprehensive transformation process to achieve the target of wealthy people, a strong country, and a democratic, equitable and civilised society, he said.

Vietnam’s economy has attained and kept a fast growth rate for a relatively long period. Poverty reduction and social welfare policies have been implemented effectively. The rate of low-income earners dropped from 58 percent in the early 1990s to under 10 percent in 2010, which means about 30 million Vietnamese people escaped from poverty in only two decades.

With right and effective policies, the country has curbed the increase of inequality that usually occurs during the shift to a market economy in the countries with the same development level, General Secretary Trong noted.

He emphasised that the market economy itself does not lead to socialism, but to successfully build socialism, it is a must to develop a market economy in an appropriate manner.

It is a fact that the more reforms are made, the more challenges and difficulties occur alongside new opportunities, he said, adding that the Fourth Industrial Revolution is creating many problems in terms of growth model when the competitive edge belongs to the sectors basing on knowledge and high technology, and the most important development factor is still human resources.

Meanwhile, shortcomings that have existed for a long time in the economy and many social aspects in Vietnam cannot be addressed overnight, requiring the country to adopt synchronous solutions, suitable roadmap, and resolute and persistent directions, basing on firm scientific ground, he added.

The visiting leader said the reforms in Vietnam and the economic model update in Cuba cannot be done in one time, noting the need for the countries to be patient and learn lessons from the implementation of the reforms and update.

In his speech, he expressed his belief that with the visionary leadership of the PCC, the Cuban Government’s drastic actions, and people’s support, the country will definitely obtain even greater achievements and successfully build socialism.-VNA