Party General Secretary and President Nguyễn Phú Trọng, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, and Defence Minister General Ngô Xuân Lịch, at a stand showcasing defence-related publications on the sidelines of the 11th Party Congress of the Việt Nam People’s Army (VPA) for the 2020-25 tenure on Monday in Hà Nội. — VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng

HÀ NỘI — The 11th Party Congress of the Việt Nam People’s Army (VPA) for the 2020-25 tenure opened in Hà Nội on Monday.

Party General Secretary and President Nguyễn Phú Trọng, who is the Secretary of the Central Military Commission, attended and delivered a speech at the event which drew 450 delegates representing over 26,000 Party members in the VPA.

The congress was also attended by Politburo members including Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân, Party Central Committee members, and along with a number of former Party, State and NA leaders.

Opening the congress, General Ngô Xuân Lịch, Politburo member, Deputy Secretary of the Central Military Commission and Defence Minister, said that all tasks and goals set in the resolution of the 10th VPA Party Congress had been completed or overfulfilled.

The Party organisation of the VPA had maintained its purity and strength while upholding its leadership over all aspects of the armed forces, he said.

Amidst the complicated developments in the regional and global situation, all officers and soldiers had stayed united with high consensus, demonstrated absolute loyalty to the Party, State and people, and stayed ready to receive and complete all assigned missions, firmly safeguarded national independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity as well as a peaceful and stable environment for the national construction and development, said Lịch.

He noted that the 11th Party Congress of the VPA was an important event, at which participants would review the five-year implementation of the resolution issued by the previous congress, while sketching out orientations, goals and tasks to conduct defence-military tasks and Party building in the next five years.

General Secretary Trọng lauded the completion of tasks by the military amidst complicated regional and global developments, especially increasing strategic competition between countries and the rise of non-traditional security threats.

The Party chief noted that the military had effectively delivered reports and advice to the State and Party leadership on defence-related issues to respond to the ever-changing world and maintain stability in the country by successfully thwarting anti-State schemes and promoting political integrity within its ranks.

He said the army needed to perform well in logistics and engineering, develop the defence industry in the direction of autonomy, self-reliance, modernity and geared towards 'dual use' technology, and meet the requirements of army building and socio-economic development.

The Central Military Commission must be an exemplary, upright, strong and united party organ which continued to uphold the illustrious traditions of the Communist Party of Việt Nam and the Vietnamese people to be deserving of the title 'Uncle Hồ's soldiers' and the heroic army of a heroic nation, General Secretary Trọng said at the meeting.

They will also assess the performance of leaders of the 10th Central Military Commission, while giving opinions on important draft documents of the 13th National Party Congress and selecting delegates to the 13th National Party Congress.

In the morning session, delegates listened to a political report from the Central Military Commission for the 2015-20 period delivered by General Lương Cường, Secretary of the Party Central Committee and member of the Standing Board of the Central Military Commission and Chairman of the General Department of Politics, before discussing the report. — VNS