General Secretary and President To Lam: Great national unity defined as a strength to unlock resources

On the morning of May 12th, at the National Convention Center (Hanoi), the 11th National Congress of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, for the term 2026-2031, officially opened.

General Secretary and President To Lam attended and delivered a keynote address at the Congress.

The Business Forum Magazine respectfully publishes the full text of the speech by General Secretary and President To Lam .

Distinguished members of the Presidium of the Congress,

Distinguished leaders and former leaders of the Party, State, and Vietnam Fatherland Front,

Distinguished elders, senior citizens, representatives of all classes and strata of the people, ethnic groups, religions, intellectuals, artists, delegates, esteemed guests, and international friends,

Distinguished delegates and fellow countrymen at home and abroad.

Today, I am very pleased to attend the 11th National Congress of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, for the term 2026-2031. This is a very important socio-political event, taking place at a time when our country is entering a new stage of development, with new strength and opportunities, and also facing many great new demands and tasks.

On behalf of the Party and State leadership, I warmly welcome the Congress. Through this Congress, I send my warmest regards and best wishes to all compatriots, comrades, cadres, soldiers throughout the country and our compatriots abroad.

Distinguished delegates,

This Congress of the Vietnam Fatherland Front is taking place in a very special context. The 14th National Congress of the Party was successfully concluded, defining strategic directions to lead the country into a new era—an era of development, prosperity, and strength.

The elections for the 16th National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term mark a significant shift towards reform. The political system is operating under a new, more streamlined organizational model, demanding higher efficiency and effectiveness to better serve the people.

Therefore, the 11th National Congress of the Vietnam Fatherland Front marks the beginning of a new phase of development for the Front, with a new position, a new organizational model, and new tasks and requirements.

The Congress needs to clearly define what the Vietnam Fatherland Front must do and how it must do so to continue to be a place where the people's hearts converge, reflect the people's will, protect the people's legitimate interests, connect the people's strength, promote the strength of great national unity, and contribute to the successful achievement of the country's development goals by 2030 and the vision to 2045.

I wholeheartedly agree with the theme, direction, objectives, and action program set forth by the Congress. The Congress's theme clearly reflects the spirit of unity, democracy, innovation, creativity, and development, affirming the core political role of the Vietnam Fatherland Front in promoting democracy, patriotic traditions, the strength of great national unity, and building a prosperous, thriving, civilized, and happy country.

Distinguished delegates,

Our nation's history has proven the truth: when our people are united, their hearts are united, and their will is unified, the country overcomes all difficulties, defeats all enemies, and creates miracles of lasting significance. Great national unity is a precious tradition, a strategic guideline of the Party, and the source of Vietnam's strength.

From the August Revolution of 1945, through the wars of resistance against foreign invasion, the reunification of the country, the defense of the Fatherland, to the current process of reform, integration, and development, all the victories of our nation have stemmed from the correct leadership of the Party and the invincible strength of the People. Our Party is strong because it is intimately connected with the People. Our nation is stable because it relies on the People. Our regime is enduring because it is trusted, supported, protected, and built by the People.

In the new era, great national unity is not only a spiritual tradition but also a driving force for national development; it is the strength to unlock resources, unleash creativity, create social consensus, and protect the homeland from early on and from afar.

Unity in this new era means respecting legitimate and justifiable differences; harmoniously resolving conflicts of interest; taking the common goal of the nation and people as a point of common ground; and using the aspiration to build a peaceful, independent, democratic, prosperous, civilized, and happy Vietnam as the banner to unite all patriotic Vietnamese people.

Over the past period, despite the shortened term, the Fatherland Front at all levels and its member organizations have made great efforts and achieved many important results. Following the Central Committee's directives, the Fatherland Front has promptly reorganized and streamlined its structure and apparatus, meticulously and responsibly preparing for the 11th National Congress; at the same time, it has gradually operated according to a new model, maintaining stable and smooth operations.

The work of propaganda, mobilization, and gathering of the people has been reformed, contributing to creating social consensus in implementing major policies and decisions of the Party and State; actively participating in building the Party, building the State, building and perfecting laws; contributing opinions to the documents of the 14th Party Congress; participating in amending and supplementing the Constitution and important laws; organizing consultations, nominating candidates, and mobilizing the people to participate in elections, contributing to the success of this great national event.

The work of social supervision and criticism, representing and protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the people has seen significant progress. Emulation movements and campaigns such as building new rural areas, civilized urban areas, the Great National Unity Day in residential areas, the "For the Poor - Leaving No One Behind" movement, campaigns to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses, disaster relief, and caring for vulnerable people... have vividly demonstrated the compassionate, benevolent, and solidarity traditions of our nation.

Beloved President Ho Chi Minh instructed: "In the sky, nothing is more precious than the people. In the world, nothing is stronger than the united force of the people."

The coordination with the Government and all levels and sectors to complete the demolition of over 334,000 temporary and dilapidated houses nationwide is a very significant achievement; mobilizing support for people affected by natural disasters and floods with an amount exceeding 4,200 billion VND; and mobilizing donations to help the fraternal Cuban people with an amount of 315 billion VND...

On behalf of the Party and State leadership, I acknowledge, warmly congratulate, and commend the important achievements that the Vietnam Fatherland Front at all levels, its member organizations, Front cadres, members, and all strata of the people have achieved in the past period.

Despite the achievements, the work of the Fatherland Front still has limitations and shortcomings. The content and methods of mobilizing and uniting the people have sometimes and in some places not kept pace with the rapid changes in social life. Some campaigns and emulation movements are still superficial, and their effectiveness is not uniform.

In some areas, social monitoring and criticism are still lacking in quality; the follow-up and enforcement of recommendations following monitoring and criticism are sometimes not decisive enough.

Understanding the people's situation, especially in cyberspace and among new social groups, has not kept pace with the times. Digital transformation in the work of the Fatherland Front is uneven, still largely superficial, and not truly effective.

These limitations need to be confronted directly, discussed honestly, assessed accurately, and addressed with fundamental solutions. The Front cannot be strong if it is distant from the people; it cannot innovate if it is merely rhetoric in resolutions; it cannot represent the people if it cannot hear their true voices and speaks in a way the people do not understand; and it cannot provide quality oversight and critical feedback if it lacks courage, data, experts, and mechanisms to follow up on legitimate recommendations.

Distinguished delegates,

During the 2026-2031 term, on behalf of the Party and State leadership, I would like to emphasize five key tasks for delegates attending the Congress to discuss, consider, and decide upon.

Firstly, thoroughly understanding the viewpoint that "the people are the foundation," that the people are the subject and the center of the reform and development process, is a guiding principle in the activities of the Fatherland Front.

All Party guidelines, State policies and laws, and all programs, movements, and campaigns of the Fatherland Front must stem from the needs, aspirations, rights, and legitimate interests of the people, aiming to improve the material and spiritual lives and happiness of the people.

The Front must place the people at the center of all its activities; rely on the people to build the Party, the State, and the political system; promote the people's right to self-governance; and genuinely implement the motto "the people know, the people discuss, the people do, the people inspect, the people supervise, and the people benefit."

The effectiveness of the Fatherland Front's work should not only be measured by the number of meetings, documents, movements, and launching ceremonies, but also by the people's trust, satisfaction, level of participation, ability to protect the people's legitimate rights and interests, and concrete results in making the people's lives better and better.

The Front must both convey the correct guidelines of the Party and the correct policies of the State to the people, and bring the voices, aspirations, initiatives, and legitimate grievances of the people to the Party and the State.

Secondly, we must innovate the methods of gathering, mobilizing, and promoting the strength of great national unity. Our society is changing rapidly; the structure of classes, strata, occupations, working methods, living spaces, and access to information of the people are becoming increasingly diverse.

Besides traditional residential areas, there are also industrial zones, worker dormitories, professional communities, business associations, cyberspace, overseas Vietnamese communities, and new social groups.

Therefore, the methods of mobilizing and uniting the people must also be reformed. It cannot be done solely through conferences, documents, and slogans; it must be done through dialogue, persuasion, practical benefits, exemplary behavior, concrete results, and the ability to address the issues that concern the people.

Each program, movement, and campaign of the Front needs to shift strongly from general initiation to specific implementation; from slogans to results; from form to substance; ensuring it is easy to understand, easy to remember, easy to do; clear objectives, clear responsibilities, clear deadlines; measurable results, and measurable impact on people's lives.

The Front does not replace the State, nor does it replace its member organizations, and it certainly must not bureaucratize its activities. The Front must fulfill its core political role: uniting, consulting, coordinating, supervising, providing feedback, caring for, protecting, and promoting the strength of the people.

In the new organizational model, the organization can be more streamlined, but its ability to unite people must be broader; the apparatus may have fewer layers, but its operations must be closer to the people.

Thirdly, improve the quality of social supervision and criticism, and participation in building the Party and the State. Social supervision and criticism are very important functions of the Vietnam Fatherland Front; they are a method for the people to participate in building the Party and the State, controlling power, preventing corruption, waste, and negative phenomena, improving the quality of policies, and strengthening social trust.

Supervision must focus on issues of public concern, pressing societal concerns, and policies that significantly impact people's lives. Social critique must be implemented early and proactively, right from the policy formulation stage; it should not only involve feedback on wording, but also on policy objectives, social impact, feasibility, resources for implementation, and the interests of the people.

Social criticism is not intended to hinder state agencies, but rather to make policies more accurate, closer to the people, more transparent, more feasible, and more humane. To achieve this, the Fatherland Front must enhance its capacity, quality, and methods of supervision and criticism; better mobilize experts, scientists, lawyers, intellectuals, businesspeople, and influential individuals; and rely on data, social surveys, and voices from the grassroots.

In particular, there must be a mechanism to follow up on the resolution of recommendations following supervision and criticism; the recommendations of the Fatherland Front should not remain merely reports, and the legitimate opinions of the people should not be silenced.

Fourth, we must care for the practical interests of the people and consolidate social consensus at the grassroots level. Sustainable national unity must be built on the foundation of the people's practical interests. When the people are cared for, protected, respected, involved, and benefit from these interests, then unity will have deep roots, consensus will have a solid foundation, and trust will be lasting.

The Fatherland Front needs to continue innovating its activities to care for the poor, vulnerable, disadvantaged, ethnic minorities, religious communities, workers, farmers, women, youth, the elderly, children, people with disabilities, and Vietnamese people living abroad who are facing difficulties.

Social welfare programs must be open, transparent, targeted, and subject to social oversight; they should not only provide immediate support but also aim for sustainable livelihoods, skills, employment, education, healthcare, and self-reliance.

The Fatherland Front must promote the self-governance role of the community; build united, safe, prosperous, and happy residential areas; develop self-governance models for security and order, environmental protection, promoting education and talent, caring for the elderly, protecting children, and preserving cultural identity. Social consensus is not merely formal silence, but must be built on a foundation of democracy, listening, dialogue, harmoniously resolving interests, and protecting the legitimate rights of the people.

Fifth, building a modern Fatherland Front: a streamlined organization, cadres close to the people, genuine digital transformation, and a long-term vision. After operating the new organizational model, the Vietnam Fatherland Front needs to proactively review, summarize, and realistically assess the results achieved, the difficulties, obstacles, and bottlenecks in the coordination mechanism, task assignment, organizational structure, and relationship between the Front and its member organizations; promptly advise and propose improvements to the institutional framework, ensuring that the Front system operates smoothly, effectively, without overlap, bureaucratization, or substituting for others.

Front work is about working with people, with the people's hearts, and with social trust. Front cadres must have political acumen, a heart for the people, prestige in the community, and skills in mobilization, dialogue, persuasion, critical thinking, and situational handling; they must not be distant from the people, and cannot work only through reports; they must go to the source, listen thoroughly, speak the truth, make appropriate recommendations, and follow through to the end.

Digital transformation must create new ways for the Fatherland Front to be closer to the people, to listen to the people more broadly, to respond to the people more quickly, and to monitor the resolution of people's petitions more transparently.

It is necessary to operate digital platforms effectively so that people can provide feedback, suggestions, and feedback anytime, anywhere; develop the 24/7 Digital Front Portal, organize "Month of Listening to the People," and implement the provincial-level Social Trust Index.

At the same time, the Front needs to consider theoretical research and practical summaries on national unity, socialist democracy, and the people's right to self-governance as very important tasks; advise on the development and implementation of the National Unity Strategy until 2035, with a vision to 2045; and further clarify the basis, principles, methods, and mechanisms for promoting the strength of the people, the strength of culture, and the strength of the Vietnamese people.

Distinguished delegates,

To enable the Vietnam Fatherland Front to successfully fulfill its nhiệm vụ, I propose that Party committees, Party organizations, and governments at all levels continue to deepen their understanding of the Front's position and role; truly respect, listen to, coordinate with, and create conditions for the Front to effectively perform the functions and tasks entrusted to it by the Party, the State, and the People.

The Fatherland Front's oversight, criticism, and recommendations should be considered an important channel for improving leadership, management, and administration. Party committees and government authorities have the responsibility to receive, explain, and respond clearly. At the same time, the Fatherland Front must improve the quality of its recommendations; they must be accurate, relevant, well-founded, speak for the common good, be constructive, and follow up on the resolution process.

Immediately after the Congress, it is requested that the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, the Front at all levels, and its member organizations promptly concretize the Congress Resolution into specific action programs and plans, focusing on key priorities, clearly defining responsibilities, tasks, deadlines, and expected results; ensuring that the spirit of the Congress is not only contained in the documents but also permeates every residential area, every member organization, every movement, and every practical action for the people.

Distinguished delegates,

The Vietnam Fatherland Front has a glorious tradition of nearly a century of accompanying the nation. I deeply believe that, with that glorious tradition, with the innovative spirit of the Congress, with the leadership of the Party and the State, and with the unanimous support of all strata of the people and our compatriots abroad, the Vietnam Fatherland Front in the 2026-2031 term will continue to make new, stronger, more substantive, and more effective strides worthy of being the center for gathering the great national unity, the solid political foundation of the people's government, and a reliable bridge between the Party, the State, and the people.

With profound faith in the invincible strength of the People and the great national unity, I call upon all compatriots, comrades, soldiers throughout the country, and our compatriots abroad to continue to unite wholeheartedly, work together, promote patriotism, self-reliance, self-improvement, and the aspiration to contribute, striving to successfully implement the Resolution of the 14th National Congress of the Party and the Resolution of the 11th National Congress of the Vietnam Fatherland Front; contributing to building a peaceful, independent, democratic, prosperous, civilized, and happy Vietnam, steadily advancing towards socialism.

Beloved President Ho Chi Minh instructed: "In the sky, nothing is more precious than the people. In the world, nothing is stronger than the united force of the people." Let us always remember that teaching. Let unity become strength. Let democracy become driving force. Let the people's trust become the solid foundation of the nation.

I wish all delegates, elders, distinguished guests, comrades, and international friends good health, happiness, and success.

Wishing the Congress great success. Thank you very much./.