Hanoi (VNA) – The Times of India, on January 4,published an article explaining why Vietnam’s upcoming 13th party congressplays an important role in determining East Asia’s future trends.

The author, Rudroneel Ghosh, said the 13th national congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, slated for January 25 toFebruary 2, comes at a crucial time.

He said Vietnam has done a great job of tackling COVID-19with just 1,494 cases and 35 deaths so far and attributed the results to thediligence of the party leadership and quick mobilisation of all state resourcesto nip the pandemic in the bud.

According to the article, Vietnam has been able to cushionthe economic blow of the pandemic and is slated to emerge as the fastestgrowing economy in 2020. The country also witnessed a record trade surplus, itsaid.

It noted that Vietnam, as the Chair of ASEAN 2020, managedto get the 10-nation bloc to affirm that the 1982 United Nations Convention onthe Law of the Sea should be the basis of sovereign rights and entitlements inthe East Sea. Also under the country’s chairmanship, the Regional ComprehensiveEconomic Partnership (RCEP) was signed, creating the world’s largest free tradeagreement.

The article highlighted that against such context, thecountry’s 13th Party Congress will take place to elect a new partycentral committee and assign the top leadership posts, including the fourpillars – the president, prime minister, party general secretary, and the nationalassembly chairperson.

The author affirmed that current Vietnamese President and PartyGeneral Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has already determined concrete milestonesfor the future. By 2025, Vietnam is set to become a developing nation withmodernity-oriented industry and surpass the low-middle-income level. By 2030, thecountry will strive to become a developing nation with modern industry andupper-middle-income level. And by 2045, it will aim to become a developednation with high-income level.

According to the article, the ambitious goals and theirachievement would depend much on how Vietnam manages to balance post-pandemic reformsand stability. That’s why the upcoming 13th party congress is so vital todetermine the future trajectory of Vietnam by putting in place the rightleadership and structures.

And that in turn will add momentum to the free and openIndo-Pacific construct that views East Asia as a rules-based, open,collaborative and prosperous region powering international growth.

In other words, if Vietnam is on track, the free and open Indo-Pacificideal is on track, the author concluded./.