Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Fatherland Front(VFF) will better fulfill its role in enhancing the great national unity blocand serving as a bridge linking the Party and State with the people, VFFCentral Committee President Tran Thanh Man has said.

Man, who is also Secretary of the Party CentralCommittee, made the remark in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency aheadof the 9th National VFF Congress in Hanoi from September 18 to 20.

He stressed that the great national unity is astrategic policy of Vietnam’s revolution and also a huge driving force fornational development and defence.

During the 2014-2019 tenure, the VFF has exertedefforts to pool the strength of the whole nation to carry out socio-economicdevelopment tasks, ensure defence – security and build a strong politicalsystem. It has worked to promote social supervision and feedback and help withthe Party and administration building, while playing an active part in thepeople-to-people diplomacy and uniting overseas Vietnamese.

The official went on to say that theVFF-initiated campaigns and emulation movements have strongly inspired peopleof all strata with the enthusiasm for emulation, working, creation andparticipation in economic development, settlement of social problems, buildingof new-style countryside and civilised urban areas, and poverty reduction.

Additionally, the VFF has performed well itsrole in representing and protecting people’s rights and legitimate interests,along with enhancing the fight against corruption and wastefulness, he noted.

The official said for 2019-2024, the VFF willfocus its tasks on further uniting Vietnamese people both at home and abroad,along with consolidating and bringing into play the great national unity bloc.

It will continue encouraging people to emulatein working and creation, thereby helping to achieve economic, cultural andsocial targets, firmly safeguard defence – security, and weather all difficultiesand challenges.

Another important task is to push ahead withpromoting democracy; representing and protecting people’s rights and legitimateinterests; participating in social supervision and feedback, and corruption andwastefulness combat; taking part in the building of an incorruptible and strongParty and State; and creating favourable conditions for the people to exercisetheir right to mastership.

Man noted VFF committees at all levels will alsostep up people-to-people diplomatic activities and reinforce the Vietnamesepeople’s solidarity and friendship with others around the world, thus helpingto expand the Party and State’s external relations and raise Vietnam’s staturein the international arena.

The committees will also boost their apparatusconsolidation and operational reforms to increase their efficiency so as tomeet requirements in the new period, the VFF leader added./.