Hanoi (VNA)♓ - The 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) convened a meeting in Hanoi on January 23 under the chair of General Secretary To Lam.

In his opening remarks, the Party leader said the meeting will focus on five key topics, including review of Resolution No. 18, issued by the committee in 2017, which seeks to streamline the political system for greater efficiency and effectiveness; the plan to adjust the GDP growth target, aiming for at least 8% in 2025 and double-digit growth for the 2026–2030 period; personnel matters under the committee’s authority; reports on the Politburo and Secretariat’s performance in 2024; as well as reports on inspection and supervision activities in 2024 and the 2025 programme. Regarding Resolution No. 18, he highlighted it as the central focus of the meeting, saying the Politburo and the Secretariat have given strong directions on the review of its implementation. Over the past two months, the Politburo and Secretariat issued up to 21 conclusions and decisions, while the Central Steering Committee for the review of the resolution implementation released 39 documents guiding the work, according to the General Secretary. Lam clarified that central Party agencies and the Party Central Committee's commissions, the Government, the National Assembly, and other central-level political and social organisations have taken the lead in swiftly implementing the review and restructuring of their functions and tasks, re-organising their internal structures as per the new guidelines. The Government has quickly introduced policies to protect the rights and interests of officials, Party members, public servants, and workers, helping alleviate concerns and facilitate the streamlining process. Local authorities, for their part, have been proactive in implementing the restructuring, while proposing solutions to consolidate and streamline agencies in line with the Party’s guidance. The review of Resolution 18 and the restructuring of the political system’s organisational apparatus have received broad support and praise from Party members, officials, and the public, with a high level of activeness of all levels. So far, many tasks have been completed ahead of schedule, following the direction set by the Party Central Committee, he said. The Party chief attributed the smooth and rapid implementation of these tasks to the fact that the Party has built on previous efforts to streamline the political system’s organisational apparatus over the past terms. Many practical issues related to the system had already been assessed, exposing inefficiencies, overlaps, and ineffective operations. As a result, when the Party Central Committee launched the resolution’s summarisation task, there has been high consensus within the Party and the public, as these issues are well-defined and ripe for reform. On this foundation, the Politburo will present a report on the review of Resolution 18 to the Party Central Committee for discussion, and the plan to streamline the political system with many reformed significant contents such as reducing the number of agencies, eliminating intermediaries within the Party, National Assembly, and Government agencies, and removing the organisation of district-level police forces within the People’s Public Security system. As they are particularly critical and revolutionary issues, the Party chief ordered focus on discussions to boost consensus and determination in implementation. He asked for opinions about the tasks needing to be promoted to ensure a lean organisational structure coupled with personnel restructuring towards efficiency and effectiveness, meeting the country’s development requirements in the new period.

Drawing from practical experiences in administrative activities and local social life, Party members were encouraged to provide sincere and straightforward feedback on personnel arrangements, he stressed. Regarding economic and social issues, Lam emphasised that that since the 10th plenum of the Party Central Committee, the Politburo has led and directed multiple critical contents to create stepping stones for national development in the new era. Key focuses include reformed thinking in legislation, institutional refinement, removal of bottlenecks, unlocking of resources, robust decentralisation and delegation of power in combination with the political system streamlining. The moves aim at assuring lean, effective, efficienct operations while strengthening human infrastructure, particularly addressing emerging growth-driving issues. He noted this approach provides a basis for setting higher development targets such as achieving GDP growth of 8% or higher in 2025, creating momentum for consecutive double-digit growth during the 2026-2030 period. He warned that failure to pursue these objectives would likely result in missing the entire 2021-2025 period's goals, preventing the country from escaping the middle-income trap and jeopardise the realisation of two critical 100-year goals of becoming an upper middle-income country with modern industry by 2030, and a high-income developed country by 2045 as outlined in the resolution adopted at the 13th National Party Congress. Lam urged the Party Central Committee to focus on discussing and providing opinions on these issues, particularly on how to overcome bottlenecks, unlock resources, and seize opportunities to fully utilise potential and advantages for rapid and sustainable development, thus helping to achieve the goals set for 2025 and the 2026-2030 period. A key point in this process is that each locality, ministry, and sector must identify immediate tasks and drastically implement them to meet the set targets, he stressed. Regarding personnel affairs, the Party leader highlighted that the Politburo will present to the Party Central Committee the guidelines and plans for consolidating the Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission, supplementing members of the Politburo and the Secretariat, as well as plans for the introduction and arrangement of personnel in various agencies after the restructuring and strengthening of some other related tasks. These steps are aimed at gradually improving and enhancing the Party's leadership strength, and ensuring that agencies within the political system operate effectively and efficiently to meet the high requirements of national development in the new era, Lam stated, adding that these efforts lay the groundwork for personnel affairs for the 14th National Party Congress. Regarding the evaluation and review of the Politburo's and Secretariat's leadership and direction and the report on inspection and supervision work in 2024, and the inspection and supervision programme for this year, the top leader requested the Party Central Committee provide feedback, particularly on aspects related to the management and direction of the Politburo and Secretariat, with focus on affairs that have not been accomplished, the existing shortcomings, and the issues that need to be corrected, adjusted, and implemented. In the context of the new situation, which requires breakthroughs, decisiveness, determination, and unity from the proposal of policies to the implementation, the General Secretary urged the Party Central Committee's members and delegates to fully exercise their sense of responsibility, promote their brainpower, and contribute their opinions to ensure that the meeting achieves its set objectives and requirements./.