Prime Minister's speech at the 70th Anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory

We respectfully introduce the full text of the Speech of Politburo member, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at the 70th Anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory.

Prime Minister's speech at the 70th Anniversary of Dien Bien Phu Victory Delegates in the stands attending the Celebration.

Dear leaders and former leaders of the Party, State and Vietnam Fatherland Front ! Dear revolutionary veterans, Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, Heroes of the People's Armed Forces, and Labor Heroes! Dear delegates, distinguished guests, and all compatriots, comrades, and soldiers nationwide and overseas!

Today, in the joyful, excited, and proud atmosphere of the whole country, in the beautiful city of Dien Bien Phu, the Central Executive Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam , the President, the National Assembly, the Government, and the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front solemnly held the 70th Anniversary of the historic Dien Bien Phu victory - a great victory "recorded in the history of the nation as a Bach Dang, a Chi Lang, or a Dong Da of the 20th century, and entered world history as a brilliant feat of breaking through the stronghold of the colonial slavery system of imperialism."

First of all, on behalf of the leaders of the Party, State and Vietnam Fatherland Front, I would like to warmly welcome and send to all delegates, distinguished guests, compatriots, comrades, soldiers nationwide, our compatriots abroad, and the Party Committee and people of all ethnic groups in Dien Bien province my respectful greetings, sincere greetings and best wishes!

On this solemn occasion, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong cordially sends to all of you, compatriots, comrades and soldiers nationwide his congratulations, most sincere and warmest feelings and wishes our Anniversary a great success!

In this sacred moment, we respectfully bow to commemorate the great contributions and express our infinite gratitude to our beloved President Ho Chi Minh - the genius leader of the Vietnamese Revolution, the national liberation hero, the world cultural celebrity - the beloved Father of the armed forces who devoted his entire life to the independence and freedom of the Fatherland, the happiness of the people and the peace and progress of humanity.

We remember and pay our deepest gratitude to General, Commander-in-Chief Vo Nguyen Giap - an excellent and close student of President Ho Chi Minh, the Elder Brother of the heroic Vietnam People's Army - Party Secretary, Commander of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign.

We engrave in our hearts and are grateful for the great contributions of our predecessors, heroic martyrs, Vietnamese Heroic Mothers, Heroes of the People's Armed Forces, generations of cadres, generals, officers, soldiers, youth volunteers, frontline workers, wounded and sick soldiers, martyrs' families, and all our armed forces and people across the country who have devoted themselves to fighting, sacrificed themselves, and contributed to the historic Dien Bien Phu Victory "Resounding throughout the five continents, shaking the world."

After 70 years of Victory, we are still wondering, worrying, and feeling sad when there are still many martyrs whose information has not been fully identified; many veterans are still anxiously searching for their comrades; many families are still waiting day and night for information about their loved ones who sacrificed on the battlefield; the blood and bones of the heroic martyrs have merged into the soil of Dien Bien-Northwest, to contribute to today's independence, freedom and the people living in prosperity and happiness.

With the tradition of solidarity, loyalty and loyalty of the nation, we sincerely appreciate the valuable, wholehearted and righteous support and assistance of China, the former Soviet Union, socialist countries, international friends, progressive and peace-loving forces around the world, especially the brotherly countries of Laos and Cambodia in the solidarity and fighting alliance of the three Indochinese countries for the Dien Bien Phu Campaign in particular and the national liberation struggle of the Vietnamese people in general.

Dear guests and compatriots and soldiers nationwide!

Inheriting the achievements of the August Revolution in 1945 and the joy of independence not long after, our people had to enter a long-term resistance war against the invading French colonialists. Under the leadership of the Party, responding to President Ho Chi Minh's immortal call for national resistance, our army and people united in the spirit of "Absolutely not losing the country, absolutely not being slaves," and rose up to fight and successively defeated the military strategies of the French colonialists.

Ceremony scene.

At the end of September 1953, the Politburo assessed the situation and decided to approve the 1953-1954 Winter-Spring campaign plan, maintaining the initiative to fight the enemy on all fronts, closely coordinating nationwide and throughout Indochina with the motto "Active, proactive, mobile, flexible"; leading to the reversal of the Nava Plan, forcing the enemy to passively defend and sink deeper into defeat on all battlefields. Faced with our increased activities in the Northwest and other battlefields, the enemy quickly sent troops to occupy Dien Bien Phu with the plot to turn this place into "a strong stronghold group," "a giant, impregnable fortress."

Based on a thorough analysis, assessment, and correct and clear assessment of the battlefield situation, our position and strength, on December 6, 1953, President Ho Chi Minh and the Central Party Politburo decided to launch the Dien Bien Phu Campaign. Beloved Uncle Ho instructed: “This campaign is a very important campaign not only militarily but also politically, not only domestically but also internationally. Therefore, the entire army, the entire people, and the entire Party must focus on completing it.” Dien Bien Phu became a “strategic battle point” between us and the enemy, in which the Central Party was determined: “Destroy the Dien Bien Phu stronghold group to create a new turning point in the war.”

To facilitate the decisive strategic battle of Dien Bien Phu, we launched strategic attacks on all battlefields. The resounding victories of our army and people in all three regions of the North, Central and South, both destroyed many enemy forces and liberated many large areas of land, bankrupted the Nava plan, forcing the enemy to disperse their forces to cope.

Carrying out the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, our army and people had to face countless difficulties and challenges, from ensuring secrecy, logistics, troop numbers to weapons and technical equipment; meanwhile, the enemy had "strong soldiers and generals" with modern weapons and equipment.

Bringing into full play the strength of the great national unity bloc, with the spirit of "All for the front, all for victory," hundreds of thousands of cadres, soldiers, frontline laborers and local people day and night cut through mountains, cleared forests, crossed passes, waded through streams, opened thousands of kilometers of roads for troops to march, transport weapons, food, and logistics for the Campaign. With the widespread people's war posture, with the will to save the country rising like "rising tides, pouring waterfalls", we have gathered an unparalleled combined strength, ready for the Campaign.

Thoroughly grasping the direction of the Party Central Committee and the advice of President Ho Chi Minh: "This battle is very important, we must fight to win, only fight if we are sure of victory. Do not fight if we are not sure of victory," the Party Committee of the Front, directly led by General and Commander-in-Chief Vo Nguyen Giap, with the unique military thinking, strategy and decisiveness of a talented general, wisely decided to change the combat motto from "Fight fast, resolve quickly" to "Fight steady, advance steadily" right before the opening of the Campaign.

After "Fifty-six days and nights of digging mountains, sleeping in tunnels, pouring rain, eating rice balls/Blood mixed with mud/Liver not wavering/Will not worn out...", with "bare feet," a spirit of steel and the indomitable, persistent, heroic fighting will of our army and people, the Dien Bien Phu Campaign won a resounding victory - "Nine years of making Dien Bien/Becoming a red wreath, becoming a golden history," dealing a decisive blow, defeating the last effort of the French colonialists in the war of aggression against Vietnam.

This was the pinnacle of victory of the resistance war "All people, comprehensive, long-term, relying mainly on one's own strength", the victory of the spirit "Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom", the crystallization of Vietnam's strength in the Ho Chi Minh era; forcing the French colonialists to sign the Geneva Agreement (July 21, 1954) on the cessation of hostilities in Vietnam; creating the basis and premise for the liberation and construction of the North in transition to socialism and a solid foundation for the cause of fighting to liberate the South and unify the country.

Dear guests and compatriots and soldiers nationwide!

The historic victory of Dien Bien Phu was a momentous event, not only significant for the Vietnamese Revolution, but also became an immortal heroic epic that urged movements for national liberation, marking the collapse of old colonialism around the world, as President Ho Chi Minh affirmed: "It was a great victory of our people, but also a common victory of all oppressed peoples in the world. The victory of Dien Bien Phu further illuminates the truth of Marxism-Leninism in today's era: The imperialist war of aggression is bound to fail, the liberation revolution of the peoples is bound to succeed."

The historic victory of Dien Bien Phu is the crystallization of the invincible strength of the great national unity bloc, the victory of justice, of the people's hearts, of conscience and human dignity, led by the correct and creative revolutionary line; originating from the wise and talented leadership of the Party and beloved Uncle Ho, from the tradition of ardent patriotism and the spirit of solidarity that has been forged over thousands of years of history, highly promoted by the Vietnamese people of all ethnic groups across the country, wholeheartedly and wholeheartedly devoting their efforts, unanimously contributing human and material resources to the Campaign.

In particular, directly contributing to the victory were the great contributions and sacrifices of the heroic Vietnam People's Army - an army "born from the people, fighting for the people" with over 40,000 officers and soldiers participating in the Dien Bien Phu campaign. The examples of brave fighting and heroic sacrifice on the battlefield are vivid evidence of Vietnamese revolutionary heroism and absolute loyalty to the Party, the Fatherland and the People.

The historic victory of Dien Bien Phu left behind many valuable lessons of profound theoretical and practical significance, creating the premise for the next victories of our army and people in the struggle for national liberation, national unification, building and defending the Fatherland on the path of national independence and socialism that our beloved President Ho Chi Minh and our Party and our people have chosen. Up to now, 70 years have passed, but those lessons are still valuable for today's and future generations:

First, determine the correct resistance path, conduct people's war, all-people war, comprehensive war, both resistance and nation building, creating a combined strength to defeat all invaders.

Second, promote the spirit of patriotism and the determination to fight and win of our entire Party, people and army.

Third, promote the spirit of independence, self-reliance, self-strengthening, proactiveness, flexibility, creativity, correctly determine the revolutionary war path and military art, and people's war art of Vietnam.

Fourth, build and consolidate the strength of the great national unity bloc, the core of which is the worker-peasant-intellectuals alliance under the leadership of the glorious Communist Party of Vietnam.

Fifth, closely, harmoniously and effectively combine national strength with the strength of the times, domestic strength with the support and assistance of international friends.

Dear guests and compatriots and soldiers nationwide!

Promoting the spirit of Dien Bien Phu victory, our nation has achieved many great victories, continuing the heroic epic of the Ho Chi Minh era, establishing glorious feats such as the "Dien Bien Phu in the air" victory in 1972 and the peak of the Great Spring Victory in 1975 with the historic Ho Chi Minh Campaign.

After the country was reunified, we focused on restoring the socio-economy, fighting to protect the country's borders, and fulfilling our noble international duty, helping the Cambodian people overthrow and escape the genocidal regime.

After nearly 40 years of carrying out the renovation and international integration process under the leadership of the Party, Vietnam has achieved great and historic achievements, as General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong stated: "With all modesty, we can still say that: Our country has never had the foundation, potential, position and international prestige as it does today."

From a poor, backward country that suffered the most pain and loss after World War II, Vietnam has become a middle-income developing country; GDP per capita increased 58 times compared to the early period of renovation, reaching 4,300 USD in 2023; belonging to the group of 40 largest economies in the world and the group of 20 countries with the largest trade scale globally.

Vietnam is recognized by the United Nations as one of the leading countries in implementing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and is striving for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From a country under siege and embargo, Vietnam now has diplomatic relations with 193 countries, expanded economic and trade relations with 230 countries and territories, and is a model of healing and restoring post-war wounds. The political and social situation is stable; national defense and security are consolidated and enhanced; social order and safety are ensured; national independence and sovereignty are maintained; foreign affairs and international integration are promoted; a peaceful, stable and favorable environment for development cooperation is maintained.

Dear guests and compatriots and soldiers nationwide!

In the coming time, the world and regional situation is forecast to continue to develop rapidly, complicatedly and unpredictably. Peace, cooperation and development are still the major trends, but are facing many difficulties and challenges; the trend of separation, fragmentation and increasingly fierce strategic competition; armed conflicts and tensions in some regions.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, the world economy recovered slowly and risk factors increased. Meanwhile, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is developing strongly, creating both opportunities and challenges for the whole world; traditional and non-traditional security factors such as resource depletion, population aging, climate change, natural disasters, epidemics, etc. are increasingly complex and difficult to predict, seriously threatening the stable and sustainable development of countries, including Vietnam.

In that situation, we absolutely must not be subjective, satisfied, or intoxicated with the achievements and results that have been achieved; but we must not be pessimistic, confused, or wavering in the face of difficulties and challenges; on the contrary, the more pressure, the more effort and determination we must make; arouse and strongly promote the spirit of determination to fight and win of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign of the past; the more excited and proud we are of the heroic historical tradition of the nation and of previous generations, the more we strengthen our faith and see clearly our responsibility to the country in the present and the future; overcome difficulties and challenges, and strive with the highest determination to continue to create "new Dien Bien Phu" miracles in the cause of building and defending the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland.

Dear guests and compatriots and soldiers nationwide!

Proud of the glorious Communist Party of Vietnam, of the great President Ho Chi Minh, of the heroic Vietnamese people, a thousand years of civilization, promoting the spirit of Dien Bien Phu victory, in the coming time we vow to advance under the glorious flag of the Party, join hands, unite, consolidate the great national unity, focus on: Building socialist democracy, building a socialist rule-of-law state of the people, by the people, for the people and building a socialist-oriented market economy; effectively implementing the policy:

Socio-economic development is the center; Party building is the key, personnel work is the "key of the keys"; cultural development is the spiritual foundation, endogenous strength; ensuring national defense and security is essential and regular to realize the aspiration of building a socialist Vietnam that is increasingly rich, democratic, prosperous, civilized, and happy; in which focusing on implementing well the following key tasks and solutions:

1. Building an independent and self-reliant economy associated with proactive and active international integration, comprehensively, substantially and effectively. Continuing to prioritize promoting growth associated with maintaining macroeconomic stability, controlling inflation, and ensuring major balances of the economy.

Create clear changes in implementing strategic breakthroughs in institutions, human resources and infrastructure. Strongly promote industrialization and modernization; restructure the economy associated with growth model innovation; enhance the application of science and technology, innovation. Promote digital transformation, green transformation, develop circular economy, knowledge economy, sharing economy, regional connectivity, urbanization...

2. Develop culture and society in a synchronous, harmonious manner, on par with economic and political development, with the consistent viewpoint of: taking people as the center, the subject, the goal, the driving force and the most important resource of rapid and sustainable development; not sacrificing progress, social justice, social security and the environment to pursue mere economic growth.

Implement well the policy for people with revolutionary contributions; strongly promote the tradition of "When drinking water, remember its source," the spirit of patriotism, sense of responsibility and aspiration to contribute and rise up, especially for the young generation. Constantly improve the material and spiritual life of the people, leaving no one behind. Continue to consolidate the great national unity bloc; do well in ethnic and religious work; prioritize the allocation of resources for ethnic minority areas, remote areas, border areas, and islands; including Dien Bien province, the beloved "fence" Northwest region of the Fatherland.

3. Strengthen and enhance national defense and security, firmly protect independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Implement the "four no's" defense policy (no participation in military alliances; no ally with one country to fight another; no allowing foreign countries to set up military bases or use territory to fight against another country; no use of force or threat of force in international relations). Focus on building a national defense posture, a people's security posture associated with a solid people's heart posture.

Build a revolutionary, disciplined, elite, and gradually modern People's Army and People's Police, in which a number of military branches and forces will advance directly to modernity. Closely and harmoniously combine national defense and security assurance with economic, cultural, and social development.

4. Consistently implement the foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development; multilateralize and diversify foreign relations; be a good friend, a reliable partner and a responsible member of the international community. Build a comprehensive and modern diplomacy with three pillars: Party diplomacy, State diplomacy and People's diplomacy, imbued with the identity of the "Vietnamese Bamboo": solid roots, strong trunk, flexible branches; contribute to maintaining a peaceful and stable environment, creating favorable conditions for national development and enhancing Vietnam's position and prestige in the international arena.

5. Continue to build and rectify the Party and the political system to be clean and strong, improve the effectiveness, efficiency of operations, leadership capacity, and fighting strength of Party organizations and Party members. Resolutely and persistently prevent and repel degradation in political ideology, ethics, lifestyle, and manifestations of "self-evolution" and "self-transformation" within the Party, associated with promoting the study and following of Ho Chi Minh's ideology, ethics, and style.

Promote the exemplary responsibility of cadres and party members; spread the example of good people and good deeds; continue to strengthen the fight against corruption and negativity; build a contingent of cadres with sufficient qualities, capacity and prestige, equal to the task. Do a good job of information and propaganda work, promote the role of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations, contribute to strengthening the great national unity bloc, creating social consensus.

Dear guests and compatriots and soldiers nationwide!

The 70th anniversary of the historic Dien Bien Phu Victory takes place at a time when our entire Party, people and army are striving to fulfill the goals and tasks of the 13th National Party Congress; at the same time, actively preparing to organize Party Congresses at all levels, towards the 14th National Party Congress. On behalf of the Party and State leaders, I would like to call on our compatriots, comrades and soldiers nationwide and our compatriots abroad to join hands, be united, united, and join forces; take advantage of all new opportunities and chances; strive to overcome all difficulties and challenges; and strive to make our country a developing country with modern industry and high average income by 2030, the 100th anniversary of the Party's founding; and a developed country with high income by 2045, the 100th anniversary of the Party's founding.

We believe and are proud that the heroic and glorious history of our nation with the immortal spirit of Dien Bien Phu, the difficulties will be resolved, the challenges will be overcome to continue writing the epics of victory with all the determination, perseverance, endurance, enthusiasm, national pride, love for the homeland and country of today's and future generations, as taught by beloved Uncle Ho:

"Nothing is difficult, Only fear that the heart is not steadfast, Digging mountains and filling seas, With determination, one can do it."

Proud of the glorious Party, great Uncle Ho and heroic Vietnamese people, continuing on the glorious path under the glorious flag of the Party, all of us, with all responsibility, reason and determination, let's live, work and contribute to the best of our ability; let's strive to rise up with intelligence, faith, and passionate patriotism in every beat of our hearts; let's contribute and make more efforts for the Fatherland, for society, for the community, for our families and ourselves; let's stand shoulder to shoulder, determined to build our beloved Vietnam to become increasingly powerful and prosperous, and for our people to have increasingly prosperous and happy lives.

Long live the spirit of the historic Dien Bien Phu Victory!

Eternal glory belongs to the heroic martyrs who sacrificed for the independence and freedom of the Fatherland and the happiness of the People!

Long live the Socialist Republic of Vietnam!

Long live the glorious Communist Party of Vietnam!

Great President Ho Chi Minh lives forever in our cause!

Thank you very much!

According to VNA

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