Party Secretary General Nguyen Phu Trong
 

In his opening speech at the meeting, which opened in Hanoi on October 9, the Party leader asked the Party Central Committee to examine the Politburo’s reports and reality in local socio-economic performance in order to make objective and comprehensive assessment of socio-economic development in January-September and forecasts for the remaining months of this year. 

On the basis of set targets and tasks, the committee should predict possibilities in the time ahead and lay out general goals and key targets for 2017, he said, adding that more focus should be given to the control of public and bad debts; the restructuring of State budget, public investment, State-owned enterprises, and commercial banks; as well as improvement of business and investment environment. 

The Party General Secretary noted that as 2016 is the first year to carry out the Resolution of the 12 th National Party Congress, the entire political system has built on the past achievements and promptly dealt with problems such as impacts from the slow and unpredictable recovery of the global economy, falling crude oil prices, prolonged drought in the south central region and the Central Highlands, and the serious environment incident in the central region. 

On the reform of the growth model and improvement of growth quality, labour productivity and economic competitiveness, the Party leader stressed that this is an issue of strategic importance that decides the success of the renewal cause. 

According to him, a report and a plan submitted to this plenum have present an overview of the reform of the growth model in combination with economic restructuring in the country over the past years, which comprises seven outcomes, six shortcomings, three major causes and five lessons. The documents also outline the viewpoints and orientations for major policies on this issue in the time ahead. 

Trong requested the Party Central Committee to thoroughly examine and discuss the report and scheme, paying attention to new proposals regarding newly emerging and complicated problems. 

The Party Secretary General stressed that the plenum should define clearly which growth model that the country should strive to build and how it is different from the current model. A roadmap for the next 5-10 years should be drafted, along with a vision to 2030, he said, particularly pointing to policies and measures to promote science-technology, improve workforce quality, effectively mobilize social resources, especially from the private economic sector, the concentration of land, measures to solve bad debt and weak commercial banks. 

As for another important item on the plenum’s agenda- international economic integration, Trong acknowledged new steps forwards such as the signing of many new-generation free trade agreements, adding that the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community, the enforcement of FTAs with the Republic of Korea, the Eurasia Economic Union, and the signing and upcoming ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the FTA with the EU will bring many opportunities and advantages along with new challenges in terms of not only economics but also national defence, security, external relations, culture and social affairs. 

He asked the Party Central Committee to make a comprehensive and objective assessment on the situation and pinpoint opportunities and challenges facing the process as well as the national construction and defence for the next 5-10 years. 

During the process, the committee should keep to the 12 th Party Congress Resolution on global integration, the implementation of relevant resolutions and directives by the Party Central Committee and the Politburo, and the national defence strategy in the new situation, towards the goal of issuing a Resolution on global economic integration that suits the national, regional and global realities. 

The resolution must clarify the guiding viewpoint for integration in the time ahead, along with specific policies and measures to address challenges and negative impacts from the new international commitments, particularly the effects of opening the market on agriculture, farmers, small and medium-sized enterprises, or how commitments in labour-trade unions, liberalisation of services market in financial-monetary, telecommunications, Internet and social media fields will affect national defence-security and socio-political stability along the way. 

On Party building, the Party leader emphasized that the Party’s leadership is the leading factor deciding every success of the Vietnamese revolution, hence the Party building and strengthening work is vital to the Party and regime. 

To put the 12 th Party Congress Resolution by the into action, the Party Central Committee has decided that the 4 th plenum must issue a Resolution on building and strengthening Party, stopping and curbing the degradation in political ideology, morality and lifestyle along with the signs of “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” within the Party, he said, adding that it is both an essential and urgent matter and one of the six major tasks during the tenure. 

According to the Party General Secretary, the “self-evolution” and “self-transformation” phenomena are becoming complicated that can cause unpredictable consequences. He asked the meeting to analyse the causes and put forward effective solutions. 

The plenum will last through October 15.

VNA