“The Four Pillars” for Vietnam to Take Off: Elevating Integration on the Basis of Internal Strength

Unloading containers onto ships at Gemalink International Port, Phu My town, Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. (Photo: Hong Dat/VNA)

The Politburo issued Resolution No. 59-NQ/TW (dated January 24, 2025) on "International integration in the new situation," opening a new development stage for Vietnam on the journey of comprehensive integration.

General Secretary To Lam commented that Resolution 59 captured the flow of the power of the times and "raised" international integration with revolutionary, breakthrough, national, scientific and highly contemporary viewpoints.

The general objectives of the Resolution include improving the quality, efficiency, synchronization, comprehensiveness, and breadth of international integration, maintaining a peaceful and stable environment; maximizing external resources and favorable conditions to build an independent, autonomous, and self-reliant economy ; strengthening the nation's overall strength, enhancing the country's role, position, and international prestige; striving to make our country a developed, high-income country with a socialist orientation by the middle of the 21st century.

Resolution 59 marked a historic turning point in the country's international integration process, identifying integration as a strategic driving force for Vietnam to firmly enter a new era.

Sewing products for export to the European market at the factory of SangWoo Vietnam Co., Ltd., VSIP Nghe An Industrial Park. (Photo: Vu Sinh/VNA)

Since 1986, Vietnam's international integration process has achieved many impressive results: establishing diplomatic relations with 194 countries; having strategic partnerships and comprehensive partnerships with 34 countries; being a member of more than 70 regional and international organizations; participating in international economic cooperation and association agreements, including 17 free trade agreements (FTAs); entering the group of 20 countries with the largest trade scale in the world; being among the 20 economies attracting the most foreign investment in the world from 2019 to present.

However, according to General Secretary To Lam, looking at it in a comprehensive, serious and objective way, the results of implementing international integration policies still have some points that are not really as expected, have not achieved the set goals, have not met the development requirements, especially there are still many shortcomings, limitations, barriers and bottlenecks that are hindering development.

International integration brings many opportunities, but also brings many challenges and negative aspects such as unfair competition, unsustainable growth, increasing gap between rich and poor, environmental pollution, risk of "deviation", "cultural invasion", "self-evolution", "self-transformation", "erosion of trust" within the organization...

In order not to deviate from international integration, we must determine that internal strength plays a decisive role, and must strengthen internal strength while taking advantage of external strength.

Internal resources are the main resource, the root of strength. Resolution 59 clearly states that one of the major solutions of the integration policy in the new situation is to improve the effectiveness of international economic integration to serve the construction of an independent, autonomous, self-reliant and self-reliant economy, promote economic restructuring, innovate the growth model and promote digital transformation.

Internal strength is the root of Vietnam's strength, but our internal strength is not yet truly solid. Most of the export value is still created by enterprises with foreign direct investment (FDI), leading to a situation where there is a lot of production but little value creation for the country.

Vietnam does not have many key economic sectors and enterprises capable of reaching out to dominate regional and world markets.

In international integration, only countries with good internal strength can compete with strong economies in the world. If we do not prepare carefully in terms of production foundation, integration will not bring about the expected results.

Internal resources here include not only capital, land, human resources but also science, technology, and innovation. Therefore, Resolution 59 is closely related to Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW dated December 22, 2024 of the Politburo with the guiding viewpoint: Developing science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation is the top important breakthrough, the main driving force to rapidly develop modern productive forces, perfect production relations, innovate national governance methods, develop the socio-economy, prevent the risk of falling behind, and bring the country to breakthrough development and prosperity in the new era.

General Secretary To Lam. (Photo: Thong Nhat/VNA)

According to the spirit of Resolution 59, "raising the level" of international integration is interrelated with strengthening Vietnam's internal strength, with the policy of independence and autonomy. Internal strength, independence and autonomy are the basis, conditions and premises for "raising the level", proactively and actively integrating internationally.

Internal strength in a broad sense is the manifestation of sovereignty, the right to self-determination, self-selection, and decision on the path and model of development of the nation and people, and is independence and autonomy in politics, economy, culture, national defense, security, and foreign affairs. Without internal strength, independence, and autonomy, there can be no proactive and active international integration.

On the contrary, international integration helps us improve our ability to maintain national independence and autonomy. If we were still besieged, embargoed or had little international integration, Vietnam, with a starting point of 22 billion USD of the two-zone economy in 1975, would not have been able to enter the top 34 largest economies in the world as it is today, with an economic scale that has increased nearly 100 times compared to 1986 with per capita income increasing from less than 100 USD to nearly 5,000 USD/year.

In the economic field, we "raise the level" of economic integration while strengthening endogenous strength, building economic institutions towards international integration on the basis of ensuring independence and autonomy; maintaining the socialist orientation in the market economy; ensuring that the country's economy is not dependent on the outside.

The core principle is to put national interests first in international integration. Vietnam aims to “raise the level” of international integration, “keep up with the world in a timely manner, identify and seize opportunities to put the country in the right flow of the times in the next 10 or 20 years.” If we cannot do this and integrate passively, the risk of falling behind is inevitable.

In the article "Strengthening in international integration," General Secretary To Lam emphasized: "In today's interdependent world, the development of each nation cannot be isolated, standing outside the impacts of the world and the era, of the times and its situation. The country is facing a great opportunity to rise, but the challenges are also enormous. The achievements of integration so far have contributed to accumulating position and strength for the next breakthrough. Continuing that spirit, Resolution 59 marks an important shift of our Party in thinking and orientation towards international integration in the coming period, creating the driving force to bring the country to the glorious stage of independence, freedom, happiness, prosperity, and longevity"./.

(Vietnam News Agency/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/bo-tu-tru-cot-de-viet-nam-cat-canh-nang-tam-hoi-nhap-tren-nen-tang-noi-luc-post1041822.vnp