The Oath of the Vietnamese Communists
Petr Tsvetov, Pravda, January 27-28, 2026 ―
The 14th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam concluded in Hanoi. Delegates approved the Central Committee’s Political Report and other documents. A new Central Committee, Politburo, and Secretariat were elected. Comrade To Lam was re-elected as General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee.
A resolution was adopted outlining the main results of the congress. Regarding the implementation of the decisions of the previous 13th Congress, the delegates unanimously noted that they had been successfully fulfilled. “The Party confidently led the country, ensuring the achievement of significant, comprehensive, and breakthrough results, with a number of remarkable achievements,” the document notes.
Of fundamental importance to the Party and the entire Vietnamese nation is the definition of a vision for the future and guidelines for moving forward at the congress. The goal set was to “resolutely and consistently maintain a peaceful and stable environment; ensure the rapid and sustainable development of the country and its reliable defense; comprehensively improve and raise the people’s standard of living; ensure strategic independence and self-sufficiency, and confidently advance into the nation’s new era, known as the ‘era of rise.'”
The five key tasks for the 14th Congress’s term of office include prioritizing the formation of a comprehensive system of development institutions, primarily a legal system, stimulating innovation; ensuring a balance between growth and development; between the economy, society, the environment, and defense, security, and foreign policy; and between institutional reforms and comprehensive transformations.
The 14th Congress proposed a new development model for the nation, one focused on increasing labor productivity, quality, efficiency, and competitiveness of the economy. Science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation are the primary driving forces. New, high-quality productive forces and production methods will be developed, with an emphasis on the digital and green economies. The structure and quality of human resources will also undergo a transformation.
The congress set the goal of actively developing a modern, socialist-oriented market economy, supporting the public sector, effectively ensuring its leading role in the national economy, and the private economy as one of the most important engines of progress; restructuring the economy, accelerating industrialization and modernization. This clarified the current and future nature of the foundation of the republic’s socioeconomic system.
The congress devoted special attention to the international relations of the Vietnamese state. New party documents place diplomatic activity alongside defense and security as a key, day-to-day focus in ensuring the country’s independence and territorial integrity. The definition of foreign policy and international integration as a key and ongoing task, according to Vietnamese communists, stems from objective requirements arising from the profound, complex, and difficult-to-predict changes in the contemporary international situation. Diplomacy must enhance Vietnam’s role and place in world politics, the global economy, and human civilization, shaping Vietnam as a friend, a reliable partner, and an active and responsible member of the international community that contributes to resolving common problems in the region and the world.
It’s no longer customary for CPV congress documents to specify the geostrategic directions of Vietnam’s multi-vector foreign policy. The current Political Report merely notes the need to develop relations with neighboring countries, major powers, Southeast Asian countries, “traditional friends,” and “important partners.” The specific countries are not specified, but it’s easy to assume that Russia falls into the category of “traditional friends” and “important partners.” A careful analysis of the congress materials suggests that our country is experiencing certain favorable conditions for cooperation with Vietnam. The CPV’s proposed objectives of developing nuclear energy, information technology, modernizing rail transport, increasing the number of Vietnamese citizens with higher education, and many others are sure to resonate with our institutions working on Vietnam.
In his speech at the closing of the Communist Forum, General Secretary of the CPV Central Committee To Lam declared: “We will certainly successfully implement the Resolution of the 14th Congress and will certainly build a socialist Vietnam—peaceful, independent, democratic, strong, civilized, and happy.” This vow from the Communist Party leader was heard.