Party General Secretary Tô Lâm chairs the 13th plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee, which opened solemnly in Hà Nội on Monday morning.— VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — The core requirements in personnel selection are virtue, capability, reputation, integrity and effectiveness, along with the courage to think, to act and to take responsibility for the national and public interest, to be close to the people, respect the people and serve the people.

That was the message from Party General Secretary Tô Lâm as he chaired the 13th plenum of the 13th Party Central Committee, which opened solemnly in Hà Nội on Monday morning.

Describing personnel work as a matter of “utmost importance” and “the key of all keys”, Lâm stressed that it would determine the success of the 14th National Party Congress and the country’s development in the future.

He asked Party Central Committee members to base their nominations on the standards, conditions, structure and numbers outlined in the Party’s orientation for personnel work for the 14th Congress and relevant regulations.

“The interests of the Party, the nation and the people must always come first,” he said.

Above all, quality, effectiveness, work output and contributions must be used as key criteria and benchmarks in personnel selection.

“In the current stage, special attention must be paid to the elements of 'virtue, health and talent', resolutely preventing those who seek to buy positions, exercise factionalism or pursue self-interest from entering the Party Central Committee,” Lâm said.

For the Party’s Central Inspection Commission, he urged the selection of people who are steadfast, impartial, knowledgeable in law, proficient in their profession, “as clear as a mirror and as sharp as a sword” to truly serve as the Party’s sword and shield in safeguarding discipline.

At the plenum, the Politburo presented to the Party Central Committee a report on the results and proposed plans for nominating personnel to the 14th Party Central Committee and the 14th Central Inspection Commission, and conducted ballots to recommend candidates in line with regulations.

As of August 20, all Party committees and organisations nationwide had completed their personnel nominations for the 14th Party Central Committee and submitted results to the Sub-committee on Personnel Affairs.

Based on the nominations and the assessments, verifications and supplementary conclusions of relevant agencies, the Politburo held comprehensive discussions, reached consensus on the list, and conducted the required voting procedures.

It also completed the process of recommending candidates for the 14th Party Central Inspection Commission, including both re-elected and new members.

Talking about draft documents for the 14th National Party Congress, Lâm said that the draft documents for the 14th Congress had been thoroughly and carefully prepared, updated and revised several times, especially following the consensus reached at the 11th and 12th plenums of the Party Central Committee.

The contents of the documents basically meet the requirements for submission to the upcoming Congress.

They aim not only to review the country’s development over the past five years and set out goals and tasks for the next five, but also to shape strategic thinking, vision and development orientation towards the mid-21st century.

The Sub-committee on Documents has distilled and incorporated key elements from seven recently issued Politburo Resolutions into the draft political report, identifying 17 new highlights in the documents to be presented to the 14th Congress.

Bright tones of economic outlook

Overall, the socio-economic picture of this year is characterised by bright tones.

Despite facing adverse global fluctuations, natural disasters and severe storms, the country has maintained stability and steady growth so far.

In the third quarter of this year, GDP grew by 8.22 per cent, bringing growth for the first nine months to 7.84 per cent.

Budget revenue reached nearly VNĐ2 quadrillion ($75.8 billion), equivalent to 97.9 per cent of the annual estimate, while the trade surplus approached $17 billion.

All 15 key targets for this year are expected to be met or exceeded, with annual GDP growth projected at 8.1–8.5 per cent.

Lâm emphasised that the results reflected the tremendous efforts of the Party, Government, National Assembly, all levels of the political system, local authorities, the business community and the entire population.

However, he also cautioned that underlying weaknesses in the economy must be addressed to ensure more sustainable growth.

The year 2026, marking the start of a new term, would be crucial for implementing the Resolutions of the 14th National Party Congress.

Ambitious targets had been set for GDP growth above 10 per cent, per capita income of $5,400-5,500, and CPI growth of around 4.5 per cent.

Lâm said that these were mandatory yet highly challenging objectives.

He then called on the Party Central Committee to discuss and provide strategic guidance so that the Party Committees of the National Assembly and the Government could finalise the socio-economic development plan and state budget estimates for 2026 and beyond, under the guiding spirit of 'enhancing strategic autonomy and national self-reliance for development, with the motto 'stability, discipline, acceleration, breakthrough and sustainability'. — VNS