Speech by General Secretary To Lam at the 18th Hanoi Party Congress

On the morning of October 16, in Hanoi, the City Party Committee opened the 18th Congress of Delegates for the 2025-2030 term, with the participation of 550 delegates representing nearly half a million Party members in the capital. General Secretary To Lam attended and delivered a speech at the Congress. Nhan Dan Newspaper respectfully introduces the full text of the General Secretary's speech at the Congress.

General Secretary To Lam delivered a speech directing the Congress. (Photo: DUY LINH)

Dear leaders, former leaders of the Party, State, Vietnam Fatherland Front and leaders of Hanoi city!

Dear Presidium of the Congress!

Dear delegates, distinguished guests, delegates attending the Congress and invited delegates!

Today, I and the Politburo members and Secretariat members are very pleased to attend the 18th Hanoi Party Congress - a political event of special importance to the capital and the whole country.

On behalf of the Party Central Committee, the Politburo, and the Secretariat, I warmly welcome and wish good health to the veteran revolutionaries, Heroic Vietnamese Mothers, Heroes of the People's Armed Forces, Heroes of Labor, distinguished guests, and 550 delegates attending the Congress, outstanding party members, representing nearly half a million party members of the Hanoi Party Committee. Through you, I would like to send my warmest regards and best wishes to all cadres, party members, compatriots, soldiers, and people of all walks of life in the capital.

Dear comrades!

Beloved President Ho Chi Minh once advised: “The whole country looks to our capital. The world looks to our capital. We must all strive to maintain order and security, making our capital a peaceful, beautiful, and healthy capital both physically and spiritually”; “The Hanoi Party Committee must set an example for other Party Committees”.

These teachings are both an honor, a pride and a great responsibility for the capital city of Hanoi. This congress is an opportunity for comrades to reflect on themselves, set the right goals, create new momentum, new determination, new motivation to develop the capital in the new era of the nation and realize Uncle Ho's wishes for the capital city of Hanoi.

From that spirit, I propose that the Congress discuss two strategic questions to define the vision and method of action for the entire term.

Firstly, how will Hanoi shape its identity and development model to both preserve the soul of Thang Long and strive to become a creative, green, smart, globally connected metropolis, commensurate with the appearance of the capital of a high-income developed country with a socialist orientation by 2045?

Second, how will the Hanoi Party Committee improve its leadership capacity and fighting strength to turn goals and policies into results, so that the people of the capital can participate and enjoy the fruits of development?

From those two key questions, we look back on the past journey to determine the right starting point for the new step forward.

In the past term, despite facing numerous difficulties and challenges, including many new and unprecedented issues, the Party Committee, government and people of the Capital have always strived to maintain stability and development, actively contributing to the country's overall achievements.

Through the review and assessment of the comrades, it shows that: The targets set out at the 17th City Party Congress were basically achieved and exceeded, with 4 targets completed 1 to 2 years early, of which 14 outstanding results were affirmed in the Political Report and proven by specific data.

We are pleased to see that: The appearance of the Capital has continuously developed in a modern, smart, green and sustainable direction with many key works and projects completed and put into use. The Capital's economy has continuously developed with a growth rate higher than the national average, the economic scale is 1.4 times higher than at the beginning of the term; budget revenue is 1.8 times higher than the previous term; science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation are strongly promoted.

The cultural values ​​and people of the Capital are preserved and promoted, especially through the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the successful August Revolution and National Day September 2, contributing to spreading the image of elegant and civilized Hanoians, the "City for Peace" of the world.

The quality of life of the people of the capital is increasingly improved, with the highest human development index (HDI) in the country. National defense, security, social order and safety are maintained. There have been many changes in Party building and rectification; the organization and apparatus of the capital's political system have been streamlined, operating effectively and efficiently; the leadership methods of Party committees and organizations at all levels have been gradually innovated; the 2-level local government model operates smoothly, effectively and efficiently, serving the people and businesses better and better...

On behalf of the Party Central Committee, the Politburo and the Secretariat, I warmly congratulate, appreciate and commend the achievements that the Party Committee, government and people of the Capital have achieved in the past term.

I agree with the comrades' assessment of the 6 groups of limitations and weaknesses mentioned in the Political Report. We must frankly acknowledge that there are still many long-standing "bottlenecks" that need to be focused on overcoming, such as: Growth quality and labor productivity are not commensurate with the potential, strengths and special policies of the Central Government for Hanoi; science, technology and innovation are still limited; infrastructure has not kept up with development; planning, land, construction and urban management still have many shortcomings; traffic congestion, flooding, air pollution, river and lake pollution are still persistent; building a cultural, elegant and civilized lifestyle has not met expectations...

Some cadres are still afraid of mistakes and responsibility, and follow the "mediocre" and "traditional thinking" style, not daring to boldly innovate and make breakthroughs; there are even still manifestations of corruption, waste, and negativity that hinder the development of the Capital. We must look straight at the truth to change, that is a mandatory condition if we want to make a breakthrough.

I propose that the Congress should continue to deeply analyze the causes of the existing problems and limitations in order to have policies and solutions to completely resolve them in the next term.

Dear comrades!

Our country and our capital are entering a new era of national development with opportunities, advantages, difficulties and challenges intertwined. The two 100-year goals of the country pose very high demands and great challenges, requiring innovation in perception and strong breakthroughs in action from the central to local levels.

The Party Committee, government and people of Hanoi need to deeply understand the special important position and role of the Capital to the country; fully understand the attention and facilitation of the Central Government for the Capital; and clearly see Hanoi's great responsibility towards the wishes and expectations of the people of the whole country and the people of the Capital for Hanoi.

For Hanoi to enter a new stage of development, it requires a comprehensive and systematic vision, where ideology, institutions, space, economy and people blend into a sustainable development whole. In which, ideology guides institutions; institutions create space; space paves the way for economy; economy nurtures people; and people create and perfect ideology. Therefore, I would like to suggest to you the following 7 requirements and tasks:

Firstly , building a clean and strong Hanoi Party Committee and political system, setting an example, acting and being responsible.

This is the first breakthrough axis, deciding all successes. The Hanoi City Party Committee must be truly exemplary, a shining example of political mettle, revolutionary ethics, leadership capacity and fighting spirit. Each cadre and party member must dare to think, dare to do, dare to take responsibility for the common good; match words with actions; serve the people.

Continue to seriously implement Resolution No. 4 of the 12th Central Committee and Conclusion No. 21-KL/TW of the 13th Central Committee's 4th Conference, in conjunction with Directive No. 05-CT/TW on studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and lifestyle.

Resolutely prevent and combat corruption, negativity, and waste; promote the spirit of self-criticism, solidarity, and unity within the entire City Party Committee; and strengthen the close relationship between the Party and the people.

Focus on improving the effectiveness and efficiency of two-level government, strongly shifting from management thinking to creative and service thinking, implementing clear decentralization and delegation of power, accompanied by responsibility and control.

We must radically change our thinking with a new spirit: "Hanoi says we will do it - do it quickly, do it correctly, do it effectively, and do it to the end."

Second , we need to put "Culture-Identity-Creativity" at the center of all development orientations of the Capital, considering it a strong endogenous resource, the foundation for forming the mettle, intelligence and strength of Hanoi, as a foundation for the Capital to affirm its leading role, leading position and influence of the nation in the new period.

The capital Hanoi, bearing the soul, character and intelligence of the nation, has strength not only in population size or GDP index, but also in the cultural depth cultivated through history, from the ancient vestiges of Thang Long citadel, to the modern pace of life of a leading political, cultural and economic center of the country.

Hanoi must be built as a "City of culture - identity - creativity", aiming for a "Civilized - modern - sustainable capital" with the wisdom of the times and global stature: Where culture is the root, crystallizing national wisdom, nurturing faith, aspiration and courage, creating a unique attraction that no other city can copy; identity is the fulcrum, the core competitive advantage, helping Hanoi not only preserve its historical soul but also create attraction to lead creativity, develop a knowledge-based economy, attract talent; creativity is the driving force for development, transformation, turning heritage into living values, both preserving, developing, and expanding the urban stature, from planning, architecture, art to education, science and administration.

To do so, the development strategy must synchronously connect culture, space, economy and people. Every decision, project and investment must ensure that traditional character is preserved, cultural space is shaped for future generations, and innovation capacity is created. It is necessary to develop “creative circuits” connecting the entire capital, ensuring the flow of creative energy from heritage, knowledge to technology, connecting cultural, academic and innovation centers.

On that basis, “three creative poles” will be formed, including: Heritage - the historical inner city center and the space along the Red River - Co Loa Citadel; knowledge - Hanoi National University and training and research centers; and technology - Hoa Lac High-Tech Park and innovation zones. This will be the axis leading the creativity of the entire capital, maximizing the value of history, knowledge and technology, turning Hanoi into a city that converges the past, present and future.

When Hanoi puts culture-identity-creativity at the center of all development orientations, the Capital not only affirms its leading position, leading and spreading national strength, but also becomes a model urban area with courage, intelligence, vitality and sustainability, where the past, present and future converge into a comprehensive strength, serving as the foundation for the country to develop in the new era.

Third , Hanoi must create a completely new governance model, capable of coordinating, leading, and thoroughly solving urgent problems, while opening up a vision for long-term, sustainable development.

Hanoi - the capital of a thousand years of civilization, with a population of about ten million people, with the position of the national political center, is facing urban challenges accumulated from the history of development: old apartment buildings, long-term traffic jams, persistent air pollution, flooding during heavy rains, and inner-city infrastructure overload. These challenges are not only infrastructure problems but also a test of governance capacity at the national level, a test of the stature and mettle of the Capital.

I also request the delegates attending the Congress to discuss and agree to include in the Action Program for this 18th term, to completely resolve the four problems that have existed for many years in the Capital, which the people have been waiting for. These are: Traffic congestion; urban order, green, clean, civilized, hygienic; environmental pollution, water pollution, air pollution and finally flooding in urban and suburban areas.

To overcome this, Hanoi cannot just adjust to the old way but must create a completely new governance model: From management to creation; from overlapping and fragmented to synchronous and integrated; from short-term to sustainable, with the stature of a modern capital, capable of thoroughly solving urgent problems while opening up new development dimensions; not only maintaining order but also creating breakthrough capacity; not only managing the present but also proactively shaping the future. We must be brave in doing things that no one has done before, cautious in method but decisive in action to lead thinking, be the standard and model of development for the whole country.

It must be an advanced, specific, integrated and comprehensive governance model, where all policies, projects and resources operate in conjunction as functions of an urban body, under a central coordination system and an inter-sectoral data platform, eliminating fragmentation, overlap and contradiction. All decisions must be based on science and evidence, tested, simulated and calibrated before implementation, not based on emotion or local interests.

Fourth , perfect the multi-polar, multi-center urban model, turning each development pole into a real dynamic center, closely connected by backbone infrastructure, strategic axes and comprehensive connecting corridors.

Developing the capital Hanoi in the new period requires a fundamental transformation from the “unipolar centralized” model to a “multipolar, multi-centered” structure. It is impossible to continue to compress all administrative, economic, educational, medical, cultural functions, etc. into the already overloaded historical inner city area, but it is necessary to reorganize the urban space according to dispersed poles, while still ensuring synchronous connectivity.

Each urban area has a specific mission in the unified whole of the Capital: The central core is connected to the Hoan Kiem-Ba Dinh area, playing a political, cultural and heritage conservation role; the northwest pole, where the Hoa Lac High-Tech Park is located, becomes a high-tech, educational and research center; the south, where there are modern industrial parks, undertakes logistics, supporting industry, mechanics, and processing; the east, where there are gateway ports, is a commercial and service center. Each pole becomes a dynamic satellite, both autonomous in function and closely connected with the entire Capital and neighboring areas, helping Hanoi become a spreading, connecting and leading urban area, leading the region and the country.

Multi-polar development is a design that helps Hanoi expand the scale of the center, so that each pole becomes a "dynamic satellite" - both functionally autonomous and organically connected to the common capital and neighboring areas.

At the heart of this model is the “infrastructure-led planning” mindset that replaces the “plan to build” mindset – meaning that every residential, industrial, commercial or housing strategy must be designed around actual infrastructure capacity, especially transportation, energy, clean water, drainage, waste treatment and digital infrastructure, treating the whole as a unified body, throughout the city.

Infrastructure must be one step ahead, synchronous and smart: Highways, subway systems, elevated railways, river ports, airports, electricity-water-information networks must be linked according to the "axis-belt-station" mindset.

Planning is no longer a static blueprint, but a dynamic infrastructure strategy, continuously updated with digital data and monitored with simulation models, ensuring that every project is implemented with sound foundations, transparency and efficiency.

This is the method of transforming planning from geometry to strategy, from map to operational capacity.

Fifth , develop Hanoi into a center of science, technology and innovation, a central driving force to promote regional and national development based on a knowledge-based economy. Hanoi's GRDP in 2024 is estimated at about 58.6 billion USD, ranking second in the country in terms of scale. Hanoi's GRDP growth in the first 9 months of 2025 is 7.92%, ranking 17th out of 34 localities in terms of growth rate.

Compared to 2024, the growth from 6.65% to 7.92% is a positive growth figure, but in terms of growth rate compared to the general level, Hanoi has not surpassed other localities, although Hanoi's GRDP scale still ranks second nationwide.

Developing science, technology and innovation is the decisive factor to accelerate growth in the coming period and is the key driving force for Hanoi to enter a new development stage - from the administrative and political capital to become the leading national center of knowledge, technology and innovation, playing a leading role in the Red River Delta region and spreading throughout the country.

This is not only a requirement for socio-economic development, but also a strategic choice on national scale, demonstrating the mindset of transforming the growth model based on science-technology-talent-creativity.

Hanoi must become a place to create new policies, test new technologies, train new talents and initiate new ideas for the country. The capital is converging all the most favorable conditions, along with Ho Chi Minh City, the two localities with the most advantages to take on the role of the country's innovation and technology center: It is a place that concentrates high-quality intellectual human resources, with leading universities and research institutes such as Hanoi National University, University of Science and Technology, Academy of Posts and Telecommunications, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology; is a hub of national technology and data infrastructure, with key high-tech zones such as Hoa Lac, data centers, research centers, synchronous digital infrastructure networks; is a place with a thriving business and innovation ecosystem, with enterprises such as Viettel, VNPT, FPT, MobiFone... and thousands of technology startups; is home to research centers of global technology corporations such as Samsung, Qualcomm; at the same time, it is also a place where abundant capital from large financial institutions such as Vietcombank, Techcombank, VPBank, Agribank , BIDV, VietinBank... is concentrated.

When all components are connected, operated synchronously and unified in a dynamic, transparent, strategically oriented governance mechanism, and led and created by the state, Hanoi will realize its outstanding combined strength. This strength not only promotes breakthroughs in technology application and innovation, but also helps the capital gradually conduct scientific research to master core technologies, strategic technologies, and take the lead in developing emerging industries.

Sixth , taking people as the center and measure of all development, building a humane, happy, fair and civilized capital, becoming a cultural and intellectual model leading the nation. In every development strategy, people must be the starting point and also the destination.

For Hanoi - the center of national quintessence, the crystallization of Vietnamese history, culture and intelligence, the role of people becomes more and more core, not only as the subject of development, but also as a measure to evaluate the success of all policies, projects and future designs of the Capital.

Putting people at the center is not only a humanistic perspective, but also the operating principle of a modern, smart and sustainably developed city.

All policies, planning, technology and infrastructure must serve the capacity and quality of life of the people. The capital must become a city where all people have the opportunity to study, create, start a business and contribute; at the same time, there must be a comprehensive welfare network, ensuring health care, education, social security, housing, employment and cultural and artistic spaces for all classes. When people are fully developed, society will be truly fair, creative and happy.

Human development is the core of the capital's development. This includes not only improving capacity, dignity and quality of life, but also developing civic culture and ethics. Hanoi needs to promote the spirit of "elegance, loyalty and responsibility" in modern life, while building a standard, clean and people-friendly public service environment, where all actions of officials and state agencies reflect responsibility and attachment to the people.

Seventh , maintain national defense and security; expand foreign relations, regional and international cooperation.

Hanoi must always be a strong fortress in terms of politics, security, social order and safety. Proactively grasp the situation early and from afar; prevent and effectively combat crime, especially high-tech crime and organized crime; improve capacity for natural disaster prevention and control, search and rescue, and climate change adaptation.

Taking the sense of safety and peace of the people and tourists as a measure of the peace of the Capital. At the same time, promoting foreign affairs, integration and cooperation in regional and international development, expanding the cooperation network with major cities in the world, actively participating in the network of "Green-Smart-Creative Cities". Thereby, enhancing the position of Hanoi - a typical political, cultural, educational and economic center of Vietnam in the international arena.

Dear comrades!

The Party Central Committee as well as I personally deeply believe that, with the spirit of breakthrough, innovation, creativity, democracy, discipline, solidarity and responsibility, the City Party Committee, the government and the people of Hanoi will certainly overcome all difficulties and challenges, strive to achieve even greater achievements, worthy of the stature and position of "Capital of a thousand years of culture", "Heroic Capital", "City for Peace", "Creative City"; confidently and firmly take the lead with the whole country into the new era, contributing worthily to the development of the country to be rich, prosperous, happy, powerful, on par with the world powers.

Wishing you good health, happiness and success. Wishing the 18th Congress of the Hanoi Party Committee a great success!

Thank you very much, comrades!

To Lam

Source: https://nhandan.vn/phat-bieu-cua-tong-bi-thu-to-lam-tai-dai-hoi-dai-bieu-dang-bo-thanh-pho-ha-noi-lan-thu-18th-post915805.html