SPEECH BY HEAD OF DELEGATION OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF VIET NAM AT THE 22nd INTERNATIONAL MEETING  OF COMMUNIST AND WORKERS’ PARTIES

(La Habana, 27-29 October, 2022)

Dear Presidium,

Comrades and friends,

1. The delegation of the Communist Party of Viet Nam would like to extend our respectful and solidary greetings to the fraternal communist and workers’ parties participating in the 22nd International Meeting of the Communist and Workers' Parties held in the beautiful and hospitable La Habana capital. We highly appreciate and thank the Communist Party of Cuba, despite being in a very difficult circumstance, for hosting and have been meticuloulsy organizing in a true international spirit this very meaningful event of the international communist and workers’ parties after 3 years of interruption due to the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic.

2. The world is witnessing swift, complicated and unprecedented developments, which have exerted broad and profound impacts on international relations, trends of movement and the rallies of forces at both regional and global level. The frictions and strategic competitions among major powers are on the rise, and greater in scale and intensity. Confrontational alliance and linkages formation, forces rallying and arms races are becoming increasingly widespread, exacerbating unresolved hotspots and creating new complicated ones in many regions. Global and non-traditional security issues are becoming increasingly severe. The above-mentioned developments have exerted intensive and far-reaching impacts upon and threatened the current trend of peace, stability and development of all countries in the world.

Against this situation of numerous difficulties, the communist and workers' parties shall persistently uphold the struggle to preserve and safeguard peace, to defend the basic principles of international law, the Charter of the United Nations; to protect the rights and interests of the vast majority of the population and toiling people as well as universal democratic values and living standards. The consolidating of true international solidarity and the strengthening of bonds among the communist and workers’ parties, and progressive forces in the world are of great significance in our struggle for a more just and better world. With the experiences of building and safeguarding our Fatherland, especially over the past 35 years of Renewal, the Communist Party of Viet Nam stands ready to exchange and share our practices, both theoretical and practical, with fraternal parties, thus together we could shedding light on our paths towards socialism which are fraught with challenges but also full of pride.

Dear comrades,

3. Implementing the Resolutions of the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, we are pushing forward our renewal cause in a comprehensive and synchronous way, with the goals that Viet Nam would become a developing, upper-middle-income country with modern industry by 2030 and a high-income developed country by 2045.

Facing with new and complicated developments and many big challenges and difficulties, we are aiming at both focusing on disease prevention and control and promotingsocio-economic recovery and development, building an independent and self-reliant economy in tandem with proactive, extensively and effective international integration. The significant results and achievements that Viet Nam has recorded in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and the possible global economic recession have been recognized and highly appreciated by international friends. Viet Nam's economy is witnessing a rapid and positive recovery, with GDP in the first nine months of 2022 registered at 8.83% over the same period in 2021. The macro economy has been basically stable, inflation under control, major balances of the economy secured. Social security has been guaranteed, people's living standards continuously improved, and the goal of ensuring both economic growth and social progress and fairness well accomplished. Party building has also been closely attended to, effectively implemented with more positive outcomes.

Regarding foreign affairs, we continue to steadfastly and consistently carry out the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, diversification and multilateralization of external relations. Viet Nam advocates expanding relations and promoting cooperations with the political, social forces and people from other countries, striving for peace, national independence, democracy, development cooperation and social progress.

Comrades,

4. The special friendship and close solidarity between Viet Nam and Cuba is a symbol of the times, an invaluable asset of the two Parties and the two peoples which had been attentively and carefully cultivated by the predecessors of Vietnamese and Cuban revolutionary leaders namelyJosé Martí, Ho Chi Minh, Fidel Castro and generations of Cuban and Vietnamese leaders. The Party, State and people of Viet Namalwaysremember with deep gratitude the strong support and heartfellhelp that the Communist Party and the people of Cuba have rendered to the Vietnamese people in the struggle for national independence in the past, as well as in the cause of national construction and defense today. That solidarity of faithfulness, trueness and noble international spirit solidarity of Cuba is vividly demonstrated in the immortal words of Commander-in-Chief Fidel, quoted: "For Vietnam, Cuba stands ready to sacrificeeven our own blood.”

We always follow the situation in Cuba and share with the difficulties that our Cuban comrades are facing, especially the counter-revolutionary activities, embargo and sanctions, negative impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, and recent incidents and natural disasters inflicting great loss of life and property.

Once again, Viet Nam affirms our consistent position in supporting the nobble cause of the Cuban people and the struggle for calling an immediate and unconditional lifting of the preposterous economic, trade and financial sanctions upon Cu-ba. Viet Nam reaffirmed our support for efforts to normalize Cuba - US relations on the basis of equality, mutual respect for national sovereignty, independence and political regimes. The Party, State and people of Viet Nam will continue to stand with the Cuban comrades, share our experiences in renewal, and in protection and construction of socialism, for the cause of Cuban revolutionary, for the cause of building socialism, for peace, national independence, democracy and social progress in the world.

Comrades,

5. On the occasion of participating this important international meeting of communist and workers' parties, the Communist Party of Viet Nam would like to express our sincere thanks and deep gratitude to the communist and workers’ parties, progessive forces in the world that have rendered support, sharings and precious help in our previous struggles for national independence and reunification, as well as in our construction and defense of the Fatherland today. We look forward to continuing to receive your sentiments, support, encouragement and solidarity for our new development stages of the Party and the country.

We wish our 22nd Meeting a great success.

Thank you comrades and friends.