In an article titled "Ho Chi Minh's Light Guides Our Way," commemorating the 136th birth anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh, General Secretary and President To Lam stated that the nation is entering a new development phase. This follows the successful 14th National Congress of the Party and the election of the 16th National Assembly and People's Councils at all levels for the 2026-2031 term.

According to To Lam, the political system is gradually operating under a new, more streamlined and cohesive organizational model. This demands higher efficacy, effectiveness, and efficiency, stronger ties with the people, and a better response to the nation's development requirements in the new situation.

In this context, Ho Chi Minh's ideology remains the spiritual foundation, guiding light, and compass for all victories of the Vietnamese revolution. The article states, "If the 14th Party Congress documents define the nation's new development path, then Ho Chi Minh's ideology is the light illuminating our journey on that path with steadfast resolve, correct goals, scientific methods, and profound trust in the people."

The General Secretary and President affirmed that President Ho Chi Minh not only discovered the path to national salvation and liberation but also laid the ideological groundwork for building, defending, and developing the nation in the new era. For him, national independence was intertwined with the people's freedom, happiness, and socialism.

Ho Chi Minh's ideology not only illuminated the path to national independence and reunification in the 20th century but also continues to guide efforts to protect sovereignty, renew, reform, and achieve rapid, sustainable development in the 21st century. In this new era, as the nation faces the imperative to enhance strategic autonomy and keep pace with global development trends, Ho Chi Minh's ideology becomes an even more decisive spiritual anchor, intellectual foundation, and direction for action.

General Secretary and President To Lam. Photo: Hoang Phong

The General Secretary and President noted that strategic directions established by the 14th Congress — such as rapid and sustainable development, building a socialist rule of law state, advancing science and technology, fostering innovation, digital transformation, building an independent and self-reliant economy, and developing Vietnamese culture and people — are all inheritances, applications, and creative developments of Ho Chi Minh's ideology under new historical conditions.

"Ho Chi Minh's ideology is not a set of immutable, closed propositions, but a vibrant system of views, always connected to reality, taking the nation's interests and the people's happiness as its highest goals," the article states.

The General Secretary and President emphasized that President Ho Chi Minh's "people as the root" ideology continues to be the guiding principle for all current policies and directions. Accordingly, all reforms must be people-centric, aim to serve the people better, and measure success by the people's satisfaction, trust, and happiness.

The article affirms that streamlining the apparatus is not merely about reducing organizational units, hierarchical levels, or costs. More profoundly, it aims to bring the apparatus closer to the people and the grassroots, expedite work processes, and better serve citizens and businesses. Decentralization of power and responsibilities clarifies roles, tasks, and accountability, promoting initiative, creativity, and self-responsibility at each level, sector, and locality. Digital transformation modernizes management, creating a more transparent, convenient, equitable, thorough, and rapid governance foundation.

In a context of strategic competition, shifting supply chains, the 4th industrial revolution, and profound global changes, President Ho Chi Minh's ideology of independence, self-reliance, and self-sufficiency continues to illuminate the nation's development path.

"The aspiration to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with powers across five continents, which President Ho Chi Minh entrusted to today's generations of Vietnamese, has become a practical development requirement," General Secretary and President To Lam stressed. This demands that the entire Party, people, and army vigorously renew their thinking, act decisively, and overcome complacency and the risk of lagging behind, particularly in technology, productivity, and development quality.

He believes that a nation aiming for rapid and sustainable development must possess a truly clean, strong Party with sufficient courage, intellect, ethics, prestige, and leadership capacity. An efficient, streamlined political system requires a cadre of officials with adequate qualities, capabilities, responsibility, who dare to think, dare to act, and dare to take responsibility for the common good.

President Ho Chi Minh (center), General Vo Nguyen Giap (2nd from left), and other Party and State leaders debut to the people at Ba Dinh Square on 1/1/1955. Photo: TTXVN

According to the General Secretary and President, combating corruption, waste, negativity, and bureaucracy is not only a task of Party building but also a development imperative. Anti-corruption efforts purify the apparatus, consolidate public trust, and protect national resources. Combating waste unlocks resources, ensures efficient use of public assets, public time, and national development opportunities. Combating bureaucracy prevents the apparatus from becoming detached from the people, policies from becoming detached from reality, and officials from becoming indifferent to the lives of citizens.

He also affirmed that Ho Chi Minh's ideology of great national unity remains a strategic source of strength in the new era. For the nation to thrive, it must awaken and maximize the intellect, courage, aspirations, creativity, and spirit of contribution of all Vietnamese people. Developing the nation in the new era "cannot rely solely on state resources, but must mobilize, unleash, and connect all social resources and the people's creative potential."

According to the General Secretary and President, studying and following Ho Chi Minh's ideology, ethics, and style today cannot stop at correct words, good slogans, or formal movements. Instead, it must transform into public service ethics, implementation discipline, a culture of integrity, a spirit of innovation, a responsibility to serve the people, and concrete results in daily life.

"Every correct policy must integrate into life. Every policy must reach the people. Every official must measure their work by the people's satisfaction, trust, and happiness," the article states.

>>> Content of the article by General Secretary and President To Lam on the 136th birth anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh

Vu Tuan