Speech by General Secretary To Lam at the First National Assembly Party Congress

General Secretary To Lam delivered a speech at the Congress.

Distinguished members of the Presidium of the Congress!

Dear leaders, former leaders of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front and distinguished guests!

Distinguished delegates, honored guests, and attendees of the Congress!

Today, I, along with other Party and State leaders, am very pleased to attend the First Congress of the National Assembly Party Committee, for the 2025-2030 term. This is a political event of special significance, marking a new stage of development for the National Assembly Party Committee, and affirming our determination to build the National Assembly into a truly supreme state power organ and the highest representative body of our people . The Congress is even more significant as we prepare to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the first general election – a historical milestone marking the birth of the Vietnamese National Assembly . The policies and decisions adopted at this Congress will contribute to extending the democratic tradition and affirming the nature and strength of our regime: "All state power belongs to the people."

On behalf of the Politburo, I would like to extend my best wishes to the leaders and former leaders of the Party, State, and National Assembly, distinguished guests, and the 297 official delegates of the Congress – outstanding Party members representing the intellect, will, aspirations, and determination of over 2,800 Party members throughout the entire Party organization. I wish the Congress great success!

Comrades!

During the preparation process for this important Congress, the Politburo collectively devoted time to discussing, providing guidance, and working with the Standing Committee of the National Assembly Party Committee to finalize the draft documents and personnel plan for the Congress. The National Assembly Party Committee can be considered one of the exemplary Party committees in leading and directing the successful organization of Party congresses at all levels within the Party organization, ensuring progress and quality in accordance with the spirit of Directive No. 45-CT/TW of the Politburo. The preparation of the draft documents and personnel plan for this Congress was carried out meticulously, seriously, thoroughly, and scientifically, ensuring compliance with the regulations and guidelines of the Central Committee. I express my strong agreement with the basic contents of the Congress documents and would like to emphasize and suggest some additional points for the Congress to study, discuss, and implement as follows:

Reviewing the work of the past term, the Political Report and the discussions at the Congress have affirmed the important results achieved by the Party Committee and Party organizations in the National Assembly in various fields. I basically agree and propose that the Congress continue to discuss, analyze, evaluate, emphasize, and further deepen the new changes in the thinking and activities of the National Assembly Party Committee. Over the past period, many groundbreaking innovations have been implemented and have yielded practical results. The division of responsibilities, decentralization, and delineation of authority between the National Assembly, the Government, and other agencies have been clear and precise, defining the roles of each agency with the ultimate goal of national development.

The fundamental aspects of the National Assembly's work, from legislation and supreme oversight to deciding on important national issues, have all seen very positive changes. In particular, there has been a strong shift in thinking regarding lawmaking, addressing a huge volume of legislative work, gradually removing institutional, mechanism, and policy bottlenecks for development, and quickly resolving many unprecedented issues while still ensuring adherence to prescribed procedures ( such as amending the Constitution in a single session; amending multiple laws with a single law; resolutions on removing bottlenecks; and implementing the legislative delegation mechanism...).

The institutionalization of the Party's leadership policies was carried out quickly with the synchronous and close coordination of the National Assembly, the Government and agencies, thereby major decisions were immediately put into practice and implemented effectively with high consensus. There has also been much progress in Party building and building of National Assembly agencies; the apparatus of National Assembly agencies has been streamlined, operating effectively and efficiently; the working methods and styles of the National Assembly and its agencies have been improved, especially digital transformation and building a digital National Assembly, achieving clear results.

To achieve such results, I also share with the cadres, Party members of the National Assembly Party Committee and National Assembly deputies about the efforts and attempts to overcome difficulties and hardships in the work. It can be said that the work of the National Assembly is very heavy, the volume is extremely large ( studying hundreds of draft laws, hundreds of thousands of pages of documents; listening to millions of voters' opinions ...), requiring intelligence, enthusiasm and silent sacrifice of each deputy. The results of the work in the past term have demonstrated the sense of responsibility, creativity and very high political determination of the National Assembly Party Committee; at the same time, it also initially affirmed the correctness and suitability of the new organizational model, promoting the comprehensive leadership role of the Party, meeting the development requirements of the country in the new situation.

On behalf of the Politburo, I warmly congratulate and commend the important achievements that the Party Committee of the National Assembly has made during the past term.

Comrades!

Besides the very positive results, the Political Report presented to the Congress and the opinions discussed by the delegates also frankly pointed out the remaining problems and limitations in the work of the National Assembly Party Committee. We need to seriously acknowledge: The quality of some laws is not high, there is still overlap, lack of feasibility, and slow adaptation to the new requirements of reality; the process of review and critique is sometimes superficial, not truly utilizing collective intelligence; supervision is sometimes not truly decisive, not thoroughly addressing the responsibilities of organizations and individuals, and not completely overcoming the shortcomings that have been pointed out; the role of National Assembly deputies has not been fully utilized, and the skills, capabilities, and effectiveness of some deputies do not fully meet the increasingly high demands in the context of integration and digital transformation…

I appreciate the serious spirit of self-criticism of comrades and suggest that the Congress continue to discuss, analyze thoroughly, clarify limitations, shortcomings and causes, especially subjective causes, to supplement and perfect lessons learned, propose effective solutions to overcome them, contributing to improving the effectiveness of the Party Committee of the National Assembly and the National Assembly in the coming time.

Comrades!

Our country is entering a new phase of development with two very ambitious centenary goals, requiring us to make great efforts and implement groundbreaking policies and decisions to achieve rapid development, consistently double-digit GDP growth, while ensuring sustainability. Meanwhile, the global and regional situation is evolving rapidly and complexly; opportunities and challenges are intertwined. Countries around the world are focusing on development goals and are not waiting for us. This is a turning point, a historical opportunity for the country to rise; if we lag behind, we will be left behind.

The above situation places immense demands and tasks on the work of the National Assembly, especially the task of perfecting institutions with the requirement of " transforming institutional reform into a competitive advantage and a driving force for development ." This requires Party committees and organizations at all levels, National Assembly deputies, cadres, Party members, civil servants, and employees of the National Assembly to further enhance their political determination, innovate their thinking, and strive to contribute to the overall development of the country. I propose that the Congress continue to discuss and deepen the targets, breakthroughs, tasks, and key solutions of the National Assembly Party Committee for the 2025-2030 term. I would like to emphasize and suggest two additional requirements and four key work orientations for the comrades to discuss, clarify, supplement, and refine further for unified implementation.

General Secretary To Lam, along with other leaders and former leaders of the Party and State, attended the Congress.

* Regarding the two requests :

Firstly , enhance the people-centered nature of all activities of the National Assembly . This is a fundamental requirement of the National Assembly – the highest representative body of the people. The Vietnamese National Assembly must be intimately connected with the people, truly being " the National Assembly of the people, by the people, and for the people " – not only in words, but in every law, every questioning session, every important decision, all aimed at the ultimate goal: the happiness, well-being, and freedom of the people and the prosperity of the country.

Each law is not merely a legal document, but must also be the embodiment of the wisdom, will, and aspirations of the people. Members of the National Assembly are not only lawmakers, supervisors, or decision-makers, but first and foremost, they must be " representatives of the voters "—loyal representatives of the voice, aspirations, and legitimate rights of the voters and the entire nation. Each representative is a reliable bridge, bringing the breath of life into the parliamentary arena and delivering the National Assembly's sound decisions back to life, contributing to improving all aspects of people's lives.

Secondly , enhancing Party discipline in the activities of the National Assembly is a consistent requirement, ensuring that our National Assembly always remains steadfast in its goal of national independence linked with socialism, placing national interests, the legitimate rights and interests of the people above all else. Party discipline does not diminish democracy; on the contrary, it guides democracy to be implemented in accordance with the true nature of our regime. National Assembly deputies who are Party members must fulfill their " dual responsibility " well, acting as a direct bridge between the Party and the National Assembly; between the will and aspirations of the people and the crucial decisions of the country.

* Regarding the four key areas of focus:

Firstly, continue to innovate thinking, focus on leading the National Assembly to perform well the three most important functions: legislation, supreme supervision, and deciding on important issues of the country.

Regarding legislation, This is identified as a "breakthrough of breakthroughs," not merely addressing overlaps, contradictions, and bottlenecks, but also leading the way, guiding national development, encouraging innovation, unleashing the full potential of the workforce, and unlocking all resources for development. It is necessary to continue perfecting the legal framework for a socialist-oriented market economy, ensuring fair competition, enhancing integration capacity, and developing the private sector into the most important driving force of the economy. Particular attention should be paid to new areas such as laws on the digital economy, digital assets, data, renewable energy, green growth, circular economy, environment, climate change, and non-traditional defense and security…

Continue to thoroughly understand and effectively implement the new thinking in lawmaking as defined in Resolution 66-NQ/TW of the Politburo, strictly adhere to the legislative process, promote the role of social criticism, and widely consult the opinions of experts, scientists, voters, and the business community. At the same time, be vigilant and resolutely prevent the negative impacts of vested interests, policy manipulation by hostile forces, or opaque lobbying, ensuring that all laws stem from the national interest and the legitimate aspirations of the people.

Regarding supreme oversight , in the new phase, supreme oversight must truly go in-depth, focusing on the most pressing issues such as land management, resources, environment, combating corruption and waste, protecting human rights and civil rights... In oversight work, it's not just about " listening to reports " but also about going to the field, engaging in direct dialogue with the people and those affected by policies; more importantly, it's about thoroughly investigating the responsibility of organizations and individuals, ensuring that recommendations after oversight are strictly implemented with clear sanctions; combining traditional methods with digital technology tools to enhance the effectiveness of oversight.

Regarding decisions on important issues , each resolution and decision of the National Assembly not only has an immediate impact on the socio-economic situation, national defense and security, and the lives of millions of people today, but also leaves a lasting mark on the nation's future. Therefore, the National Assembly needs to clearly demonstrate its courage, wisdom, objectivity, and impartiality when deciding on crucial issues such as socio-economic development strategies, national budget allocation, key infrastructure projects, social welfare policies, major policies on international integration, or issues related to independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity… Every decision of the National Assembly must truly prioritize the national interest and the interests of the people above all else, resolutely preventing and eliminating any influence of vested interests and any negative external impacts.

Secondly, we must continue to research and improve the working methods of the National Assembly and its agencies, ensuring efficiency, reducing formality, and increasing substantiveness. The focus is on continuing to improve the process of plenary session agendas, discussion methods, debates, questioning and answering, verification procedures, voter outreach, and supervision. It also involves strengthening coordination among agencies of the National Assembly, the Government, and the Vietnam Fatherland Front in preparing content and draft laws for submission to the National Assembly, ensuring thoroughness and effectiveness. Furthermore, it is crucial to continue promoting digital transformation, building a digital National Assembly, and applying artificial intelligence to enhance the effectiveness of the National Assembly and individual National Assembly deputies.

Thirdly, focus on Party building, enhancing the leadership capacity and fighting strength of the Party Committee. Build a clean and strong Party organization in terms of ideology, politics, ethics, organization, and personnel. Maintain high unity and cohesion within the Party Committee. Innovate Party branch activities in line with practical realities, promoting democracy within the Party and in the agencies of the National Assembly. Lead and promote the role of Party branches of the National Assembly Delegation both inside and outside of National Assembly sessions. Link building a clean and strong Party organization with raising the level of public service culture, preventing and combating corruption and negative practices, and controlling power in lawmaking.

Fourth, focus on building a team of cadres, especially National Assembly deputies, to meet the requirements and tasks. Cadres and Party members in the National Assembly Party Committee must be exemplary in political acumen, character, competence, and prestige, possessing both political integrity and professional expertise, with a desire to contribute, daring to think, act, innovate, and take responsibility, placing the common good above all else. National Assembly deputies must truly be loyal representatives of the will and aspirations of the people; possessing firm political acumen, impeccable ethics, deep expertise, and excellent parliamentary skills. Most importantly, deputies must maintain close and regular contact with their constituents, listen to their concerns, truthfully reflect them in the parliamentary session, and be subject to the people's supervision. The trust and confidence of the constituents is the highest measure of a deputy's prestige and responsibility.

The above-mentioned tasks, some of which fall under the direct responsibility of the National Assembly Party Committee, and some of which require coordination with other agencies. I propose that you discuss, agree, and coordinate closely to implement them. At the same time, I propose that we should promote the spirit of the Congress to immediately start implementing the four key and urgent tasks in the immediate future: (1) Leading and directing the successful organization of the 10th Session - the last session of the 15th National Assembly, deciding on many important issues of the country. (2) Organizing solemn and practical activities to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the first General Election to elect the Vietnamese National Assembly ( January 6, 1946 - January 6, 2026 ). (3) Leading the successful organization of the election of deputies to the 16th National Assembly and the election of People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term in accordance with the spirit of Directive No. 46-CT/TW of the Politburo. (4) Continue to make positive and proactive contributions to the success of the 14th Party Congress.

Comrades!

With the glorious 80-year tradition of the Vietnamese National Assembly, and with a spirit of innovation and high political responsibility, I firmly believe that the Party Committee of the National Assembly and all cadres, Party members, and National Assembly deputies will maximize their intellect, courage, unity, and creativity; excellently fulfill their historical responsibilities, leading the Vietnamese National Assembly to increasingly strong development, truly becoming a vibrant embodiment of the will and aspirations of the people, contributing to the country's development into a prosperous and thriving nation in the new era.

Once again, I wish the Congress great success!

Thank you very much, comrades!