The exhibition themed “80-Year Journey of Independence – Freedom – Happiness” on the occasion of the 80th Nation Day. VNA/VNS Photo

BUENOS AIRES _ Việt Nam's Declaration of Independence, delivered by President Hồ Chí Minh on September 2, 1945, stands as not only a sacred symbol of national freedom for the Vietnamese people but also a powerful source of inspiration for the struggles for national liberation in colonies and dependent territories across Southeast Asia and around the world, stated an Argentinian scholar.

Speaking to the Vietnam News Agency's correspondents in Buenos Aires, Dr. Nadia Radulovich, an international relations expert at the Faculty of Oriental Studies under the University of Salvador (USAL), gave profound insights into Vietnam’s historical significance, development achievements and social policies.

According to her, the successful August Revolution, which led to the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Việt Nam (today the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam), strongly encouraged liberation movements across Southeast Asia and the wider world.

As a member of the Argentine Council on International Relations (CARI), she noted that the Vietnamese people demonstrated extraordinary resilience and determination through two major wars against French colonialism and American imperialism, culminating in the liberation of the South and national reunification on April 30, 1975.

In the challenging post-war years, Việt Nam restructured its economy through five-year plans before embarking on the “Đổi mới” (Renewal) process in 1986, transitioning to a socialist-oriented market economy, she noted.

These reforms produced sweeping transformations. Industry grew by nearly 14 per cent annually between 1991 and 1995, Việt Nam became a major rice exporter, achieved universal primary education, and joined the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 1995. Between 1986 and 2024, Việt Nam’s GDP expanded from US$8 billion to over $476 billion, while per capita income rose from less than $700 to around $4,500, the scholar highlighted.

Dr. Radulovich assessed that Việt Nam has emerged as a middle power in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific, skilfully maintaining a balance between the US and China, enhancing security cooperation with India and Japan, and playing a mediating role in major international events such as hosting the 2019 US-DPRK Summit in Hà Nội.

She underlined in particular Việt Nam’s people-centred development model, with policies focusing on social welfare, poverty reduction and quality of life. This is reflected in the Party Central Committee’s Resolution No. 27-NQ/TW (2022), which set out multidimensional poverty standards, combining income with access to basic services such as health care, education, housing, clean water, and information.

Dr. Radulovich also praised Việt Nam’s breakthrough policy to abolish tuition fees for all students in public schools from pre-school to high school, starting in the 2025-2026 academic year. She affirmed that this represents a clear commitment to human development and equal educational opportunities for every child in Việt Nam.

According to the scholar, Việt Nam’s journey since 1945 illustrates a remarkable combination of national independence, decisive economic reform and a strong commitment to human-centred development, securing an increasingly firm position for the country on the global stage. _ VNS