This handout photo taken on January 20, 2026 and released by the 14th National Congress via the Vietnam News Agency shows Vietnam's Communist Party General Secretary To Lam addressing the opening session of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam at the National Convention Centre in Hanoi. - Vietnam News Agency/AFP
HANOI: Vietnam's top leader To Lam pledged annual economic growth above 10 per cent for the remainder of the decade despite global disruptions as he addressed delegates at the Communist Party congress on Tuesday (Jan 20).
The week-long event which started on Monday in Hanoi will select the party chief, the country's most powerful position, and set economic goals for the remainder of the decade.
The congress is taking place amid "many overlapping difficulties and challenges, from natural disasters, storms and floods to epidemics, security risks, fierce strategic competition, and major disruptions in energy and food supply chains," Lam told delegates at the start of his speech.
Lam, who is seeking to retain his role as party chief and possibly take on the state presidency, promised to further reform the public administration after he launched the bureacracy's most significant overhaul in decades during his brief tenure as party chief.
Lam also said Vietnam was determined to cut red tape and would promote technologies and expand global trade and ensure the country's independence and national interests were protected.
Digitalisation will be a central driver of growth he said, and the fight against corruption would continue. - Reuters
