TEHRAN - The 12th National Party Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam successfully concluded on January 28th after affirming overall policies, electing the new leadership, and launching new Socio-Economic Development Plan for the country in the next five years, the Vietnamese embassy in Tehran told the Tehran Times.

The Congress elected 200 members of the Party Central Committee, the 5-years-termed executive body of the Party. The Committee includes 180 official seats and 20 alternatives, who in turn re-elected Nguyen Phu Trong, the incumbent General Secretary of the Party, to continue the leadership.
What made the 12th Congress special in comparison to previous versions is the comprehensive reviewing of the Innovation Program kicking off 30 years ago, which now makes Vietnam seen by international community as one of the most successful stories among the developing nations.
With strong, continuous economic and political reforms since the 6th Congress in 1986, Vietnam has recorded significant socio-economic development achievements. These include not only amazingly high economic growth, even through the toughest periods of international economic environment, but also successes in social improvements and promotion of the country’s international status.
“New Asian tiger” is a title given to Vietnam in recent years by many economic foreign experts. During the last five years, despite the headwind of global financial crises, Vietnam’s economy still fared well, maintaining an average growth of 6 percent. The 2015 GDP hit a record growth of 6.7 percent, impressively higher that the set target of 6.2 percent.
According to Prince Water House Coopers, the country will possibly become one of the world’s fastest-growing economies over the period to 2050. The Development Plan for the 2016-2020 period is hoped by Vietnamese people to be the lighthouse for a sustained phase of economic development for the country.
Regarding foreign policy, with the success witnessed in recent years, the Congress decided that Vietnam will maintain and strengthen its four main pillars in the coming years. First, Vietnam will insist on its policy of independence, self-reliance, multi-lateralization, and diversification, proactive international integration, increasing responsibility with the international community based on international laws and its commitments to the world. Second, Vietnam will strengthen relations with all partners, especially strategic ones and major countries in all regions, which can contribute to the country’s development. Third, Vietnam will actively partake and promote its role in multilateral forums and enhance participation in multilateral mechanisms for defense and security, including intensively cooperative activities such as the UN peacekeeping operations or drills on non-traditional security. Fourth, in the fields of culture, science, technology, education and others, Vietnam will also take a deeper international integration.
As to the prospect of relationship between Vietnam and Iran in coming years, embassy of Vietnam in Iran believes that Vietnam’s open foreign policy and traditional friendship with Iran can play as a springboard for the expansion of bilateral ties. After the lifting of sanctions, Iran is now back to strong cooperation with the world and that is the most important condition for the two countries to take more practical steps to promote their relations. Already a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and more than 11 free trade agreements (FTA) including the ASEAN economic Community (AEC) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Vietnam can become a regional harbor for Iran’s economic and trading ventures with the world.
The country can connect Iran with over 200 countries and territories, with which Vietnam has trade links. Successes, and even failures, of the country during 30 years of innovation, international integration, and development are precious experiences which Vietnam can share with Iran in developing a “new Persian economic chieftain.”