Successful Party congresses at all levels: Party congresses at all levels across the country reaped success, setting out orientations, missions and measures for socio-economic development, and electing Party committees for the 2015 – 2020 tenure. They were an important prerequisite for the successful organisation of the 12th National Party Congress.

GDP growth at five-year high : Amid global economic hardships, Viet Nam's GDP growth rate exceeded 6.6 per cent, the fastest pace for the last five years and higher than the 6.2 per cent target set by the National Assembly. Inflation was controlled at 0.63 per cent, while overall social welfare was ensured. However, the macro-economy remained unsteady, and the economy's productivity, quality, effectiveness and competitiveness remained modest. The country still struggled to keep a balanced budget, while public debt rose and the equitisation of State-owned enterprises fell short of expectations.

Celebration of major anniversaries: Viet Nam observed a number of major anniversaries in 2015 such as the 85th founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Viet Nam (February 3), 125th birth anniversary of late President Ho Chi Minh (May 19), 70 years since the August Revolution and National Day (September 2), and 40 years since Southern Liberation and National Reunification (April 30). Those activities once again fuelled national pride and the will of independence, encouraging the entire Party, people and army to continue on their path of renewal, integration and development.

 Successful organisation of 132nd IPU Assembly: With the Ha Noi Declaration "The Sustainable Development Goals: Turning Words into Action", the 132nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-132), hosted by Viet Nam for the first time, reflected the active role and responsibility of the IPU's member parliaments. It also affirmed Viet Nam's standing and reputation in the international arena.

Breakthroughs in transport infrastructure:The completion of a number of major transport projects in 2015, including National Road 1's upgraded section from ThanhHoa Province to Can Tho City, the Ho Chi Minh City-Long Thanh-DauGiay Highway, the Ho Chi Minh Highway section through the Central Highlands, and the Ha Noi-HaiPhong and NoiBai-Lao Cai Highways created breakthroughs in the country's infrastructure development. Those facilities have helped improve transport capacity, boost trade activities, facilitate economic development in different regions and help the country's infrastructure keep up with the integration progress.

Vibrant international economic integration: Viet Nam completed negotiations for free trade agreements (FTAs) with the Eurasian Economic Union, the European Union, the Republic of Korea and members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP), bringing the number of FTAs it has joined to 14. The ASEAN Economic Community, scheduled to take shape on December 31, 2015, is also expected to create more opportunities for Viet Nam to integrate into regional and global economies.

 First-ever "two-in-one" national high school examinations:  With the goal of fundamentally and comprehensively renewing education and training, a national high school examination was held for the first time combining the high school graduation and university entrance examinations. It was intended to ease examination pressure and better the exam's effectiveness in the years ahead.

Improvements to judicial reforms: Judicial reforms made progress in 2015 as seen in law making and the restructuring of judicial support agencies in order to prevent violations of the law and unjust judgments, while increasing the protection of human rights. The open apologies and compensation offered to those who received unjust verdicts were welcomed by the public.

Success of Vietnamese athletes, swimmer AnhVien a shining example: Viet Nam maintained its place among the top three countries at the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) with 73 gold medals, with 85 per cent of them coming from Olympic sports. A number of excellent young sportspersons also emerged in 2015, including swimmer Nguyen ThiAnhVien who won the highest number of individual gold medals (8) at a SEA Games since 1977. She also won a silver and a bronze medal at the International Swimming Federation World Cup in Russia.

Activities marking 250th birthday of Great Poet Nguyen Du (1765 – 2015): The anniversary was a major cultural event of Viet Nam with a series of activities nationwide, peaking with a grand ceremony on December 5 in Ha Tinh Province – Nguyen Du's hometown. Other events also took place on an international scale in line with UNESCO's resolution to honour the poet. They once again highlighted the life and career of Nguyen Du, especially his TruyenKieu (The Tale of Kieu), which is regarded as one of the world's most renowned cultural works.

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