General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng and delegates sing a song about President Ho Chi Minh at the flower offering ceremony at the President Ho Chi Minh Monument on the grounds of the Asian Civilizations Museum in Singapore on September 12, 2012. — VNA/VNS Photo

Singapore – Simplicity, humility, and strategic vision are impressions of scholars in Singapore of Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng through their meetings with the late leader.

Trọng paid an official visit to Singapore in September 2012, during which he delivered a speech themed “For a Southeast Asia of peace, stability, cooperation and development” at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy which received high evaluation.

Associate Prof. Dr. Vũ Minh Khương, a Vietnamese lecturer at the school, said he was extremely impressed by humility and profoundness of the Party chief who delivered a speech affirming that Việt Nam always treasures relations with Singapore and hopes to learn Singapore’s experience along the path to prosperity.

The lecturer said that he still remembers the impressive answers by the Party chief to participants’ questions following the speech. A painting that General Secretary Trọng presented to the school is being hung in a solemn place, right next to the Principal's room, he said.

Khương, who met the Party chief many times, said that he will never forget the eyes of General Secretary Trong when he proposed that Việt Nam must set goals for 2030 – a year that marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of Việt Nam - and 2045 - the centenary of independent Việt Nam, to become a developed country on par with other countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

“I saw his eyes, those of a comrade, of a family member, and of a very responsible leader," stated Khuong, adding that they made the scholar confident in the great legacy that the Party chief left for the current generation of leaders and his vision to bring Việt Nam to prosperity in the next decades.

Kishore Mahbubani, a former official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore who served as the Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy then and currently an honorary scholar at the Asian Research Institute of the National University of Singapore (NUS), recalled the chance he listened to the Vietnamese Party chief’s speech and had his questioned answered by the leader, saying that he was greatly impressed by the confidence of General Secretary Trong when he answered questions at the event.

Mahbubani said he believes that this was the reason why General Secretary Trong was “one of the most successful leaders of Vietnam.”

Việt Nam’s achievements in economic development in the past 20-30 years are extremely special to any standards. In some aspects, meeting the leader responsible for Việt Nam's remarkable development was a wonderful experience for the school. “We are extremely honoured to welcome him,” he stated.

Showing his impression at Vietnam’s success under the leadership of General Secretary Trong, Mahbubani commented that the strongest imprint of the late leader was his careful thinking about how Việt Nam can succeed in economic development.

In many ways, one of the wisest decisions that Việt Nam made at the end of the Cold War was to switch to economic development and seek partners to cooperate with, and one of Vietnam’s choice was Singapore, he noted.

The former Singaporean Foreign Affairs official underlined that there are many reasons why General Secretary Trong was one of Việt Nam's most successful leaders.

He emphasised that not every country with resources is as developed as Việt Nam, clarifying that Việt Nam’s success under Trọng’s leadership has shown that the country has talented leaders who made wise decisions to promote economic development and bring about more prosperous life.

Mahbubani also highly evaluated Việt Nam’s external policy under General Secretary Trọng’s leadership and Việt Nam’s ability to navigate the increasingly complex international and regional geopolitical environment.

The scholar, who has researched geopolitics for more than 50 years, held that there are only a few countries in the world that have a wise geopolitical strategy, and Việt Nam is one of them.

He said he believes that although General Secretary Trọng has passed away, other leaders of Việt Nam will ensure that legacies and efforts of the Party leader continue, heading to a good governance, shaping correct economic policies and eliminating corruption. VNS