General Secretary and President Tô Lâm speaks at the ceremony to honour veteran party members on Wednesday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The Party Committee of Hà Nội awarded party membership badges marking 70, 75 and 80 years of service to veteran members on Wednesday, as part of citywide celebrations ahead of the 81st anniversary of the National Day on September 2.

General Secretary and President Tô Lâm attended the ceremony and paid tribute to the recipients, calling their decades of service a source of pride for the Party, the State and the people of the capital.

On this occasion, 160 party members across Hà Nội qualified for badges recognising 70 or more years of membership – 75 for 80 years, 14 for 75 years and 71 for 70 years.

Only 53 were healthy enough to attend Wednesday's ceremony in person. Officials said members of the municipal Party Committee's Standing Board and local ward leaders would deliver badges to the other 107 recipients at their homes.

Trần Đức Thắng, secretary of Hà Nội's Party Committee, pins a badge marking over 70 years of party membership on a veteran party member. — VNA/VNS Photo

Separately, 20,920 party members across the city received badges for 30 or more years of membership as part of the same commemorations.

In his remarks, the top leader said the honorees had lived through war and peace, colonisation and division, blockades and embargoes, and later the country's reconstruction, economic reform and international integration.

Many had fought or supported the war effort directly; others spent their careers in State agencies, mass organisations or on factory floors, farms, schools and hospitals. What united them, he said, was loyalty, resilience and a lifelong commitment to serving the public – qualities that helped build trust in the party and strengthen the revolutionary movement.

Turning to the country's current trajectory, the party chief and head of state said Việt Nam's economy had held up despite global volatility over the first eight months of the year, with industrial output growing at its fastest pace in years and public investment and foreign capital continuing to drive growth.

He also pointed to a nationwide '500-Day Campaign' to search for, identify and recover the remains of fallen soldiers as a reflection of the country's duty to those who died for it.

He credited Hà Nội with playing a significant role in the country's broader progress, citing the Politburo's Resolution 02, the Law on the Capital 2026 and a 100-year master plan for the city as three strategic pillars to open new room for the capital.

The top leader presents a certificate marking 80 years of party membership to a veteran party member. — VNA/VNS Photo

He also noted the approaching 80th anniversary of the founding of Hà Nội's armed forces, saying the wartime spirit of 'sacrifice for the survival of the nation' should continue to inform the capital's development into a modern, prosperous and culturally rich city.

The top leader urged the veteran party members to stay engaged, offering candid feedback to party and government bodies and passing on their experiences to younger generations.

He instructed Hà Nội's leadership to stay attentive to the veterans' well-being and to factor their input into decision-making.

Speaking on behalf of the honorees, Nguyễn Anh Liên, a member of the party cell in Hà Nội's Ngọc Hà Ward who received a 70-year badge, thanked the party and the people who had supported him throughout his years in the revolution and pledged to continue upholding the late President Hồ Chí Minh's teachings in service of the country. — VNS