Most Glorious Era in Vietnamese History

Exactly 80 years ago, the Declaration of Independence on September 2, 1945, proclaimed the birth of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. This was a glorious milestone in history, ushering in the new Ho Chi Minh era, the most brilliant period in the nation's thousands of years of history, embodying a truly grand stature that elevated the Vietnamese people from tradition to modernity.

Vietnam has achieved remarkable progress, boosting socioeconomic growth and elevating the global standing

Following that momentous point of time, Vietnam spent 30 years building a democratic republic and engaging in a heroic resistance war to defend the country, ultimately achieving national reunification on April 30, 1975. However, border wars in the Southwest and the North, as well as economic embargoes imposed by Western countries over the next 10 years, meant that Vietnam was only truly able to begin its national construction about four decades ago. After nearly 40 years of Doi Moi (renovation), the country has made comprehensive and meaningful achievements, significantly contributing to socioeconomic development and elevating Vietnam's global standing to unprecedented levels. Currently, Vietnam’s GDP exceeds US$475 billion, ranking 33rd globally in terms of GDP size and standing among the top five countries with the highest economic growth. Furthermore, during this process, Vietnam has shifted from being a passive participant to playing an increasingly active role in global security, as demonstrated by its two terms holding the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council.

Regarding the socioeconomic development strategy, some people still hold the view that Vietnam’s important geostrategic position, wartime devastation, frequent natural disasters, and difficult conditions have affected socioeconomic development, national defense, and security. At the same time, they do not fully recognize the nation's socioeconomic development resources, a decisive factor in creating strength. However, there is a growing consensus today on a quantitative model of five resources. This model represents a creative application of the lesson that building the nation must go hand in hand with defending it. To achieve sustainable development and move toward a prosperous society, it is necessary to quantitatively manage, mobilize, effectively use, and most importantly, increase all five basic forms of capital: financial capital, social capital, manufactured capital, human capital, and natural capital, which are often depleted by economic production. In other words, it is essential to actively use and manage the nation's resources wisely.

Vietnam’s GDP ranks 33rd worldwide 

According to economists, to attain this ultimate goal, a comprehensive socioeconomic development strategy is needed, one that includes four fundamental components:

First, sustainable economic governance: Effective resource management requires building and implementing good planning to enhance the five forms of capital assets rather than depleting them. These should be core components of the plan, strategy, and vision of the Government’s master planning at all levels, from the central government to local authorities and even the business community, to consistently and actively realize socioeconomic development goals. This approach aims to avoid negative phenomena such as waste, corruption, and bureaucracy, and, most importantly, to achieve economies of scale.

Second, proactively promoting resources: In the five-capital pattern, only two, human capital and social capital, are inherently capable of driving all other capitals for socioeconomic development and renovation. Good governance of these two resources is the greatest differentiator that determines whether a country is developed or developing. Human capital, in particular, is considered the most important asset of any nation.

Regarding human capital, it is essential to focus on developing the private economy and the entrepreneurial class to successfully implement Resolution 68-NQ/TW of the Politburo dated May 4, 2025. This resolution aims to perfect the market economy and unleash the infinite and powerful innate human desire for forward progress because “demand” will drive “supply,” leading to remarkable and disruptive development of a commodity-based society. Additionally, it is necessary to build and train a team of entrepreneurs with ethics, business integrity, social responsibility, and a strong sense of national identity, while also embracing the best of global business culture and harboring the aspiration to build a powerful, prosperous nation. Business ethics and business culture must be the core and respect for the law must be upheld.

With respect to social capital, it is a powerful resource that determines the civilization and quality of a society's development through unity, institutional innovation, and effective coordination of political and social forces. This is widely recognized today in the world as the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded to three economists - Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, and James A. Robinson -for their contributions to research on the role of institutions in national prosperity.

In Vietnam, the greatest lesson from social capital during the first period of Doi Moi was the institutional change from an egalitarian mechanism to an equal one, which transformed our agriculture from a crisis of scarcity to a state of surplus and global export leadership of agricultural products. This was also the beginning of the transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy. Therefore, it is necessary to accelerate law-making and enforcement reforms in the spirit of Resolution 66-NQ/TW to meet national development requirements in the new era by streamlining and reorganizing institutions and government from the central to provincial levels, ensuring the effective use of social resources.

Third, international economic integration: Upgrading, opening, and deepening international relations through bilateral economic institutions with comprehensive strategic partners is not only a condition for expanding markets but also a foundation for Vietnam to transition to a higher quality of integration and solidify its position in the global value chain. This is a “dual leverage” that simultaneously drives breakthrough economic development and risk diversification, while also positioning Vietnam as a reliable, attractive, and responsible partner in the international economic community to strongly execute Resolution 59-NQ/TW dated January 24, 2025 of the Politburo on international integration in the new setting.

Fourth, science and technology: In the modern era, managing the nation's economy must achieve two main goals: increasing labor productivity and improving the quality of life for the people, through good management of socioeconomic development resources. The 4.0 and 5.0 revolutions, with their core focus on artificial intelligence (AI)-driven technological competition based on standards and processes with efficient product supply chains, aim to create high-tech manufactured resources (including dual-use products for both economic and national defense purposes). Product standards not only enhance economic competitiveness but can also positively impact social capital by fostering trust, cooperation, and knowledge sharing among stakeholders. When products meet established standards, consumers are more likely to trust the product and brand, leading to stronger social connections and a sense of collective well-being. This can translate into increased social capital within communities and even globally.

Science and technology can now truly present an opportunity to rapidly increase productivity and the quality of life for all people. Therefore, it is necessary to build and develop a society with a progressive, free, equal and democratic environment as a foundation for a breakthrough in scientific and technological development, innovation, and national digital transformation, as set out in the Politburo's Resolution 57-NQ/TW dated December 22, 2024.

By effectively implementing these strategies, we will undoubtedly carry out President Ho Chi Minh’s testament: " The Hung Kings founded our nation; we must all strive to defend it." Most importantly, we will lead the nation, as it approaches its 100th anniversary, into the most brilliant and glorious era in the history of Vietnam.

Dr. Doan Duy Khuong

Source: Vietnam Business Forum