VIETNAMESE President Nguyen Phu Trong has been re-elected leader of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), as a week of debate comes to an end in Hanoi on Monday.

The party’s 13th congress is ending a day ahead of schedule, having made swift headway on an adjusted agenda during the week.

Mr Trong’s re-election for an unprecedented third term as party leader at the five-yearly congress was widely expected, as Vietnam looks to consolidate on its economic success and its handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

A total of 1,587 delegates attended the meeting,  representing some 5.1 million members, elected at a series of meetings held in each of Vietnam’s 63 provinces. In turn, the delegates vote on the 200-member central committee.

Mr Trong’s speech last week highlighted Vietnam’s successes as the party charted the course for the next five years.

“Our country has been developing rapidly and sustainably, consolidating people’s confidence in the party, the state and the socialist regime,” he told delegates. “Growth quality has improved, the economy has been stable, inflation has been kept under control.”

He acknowledged the “difficulties and shortcomings” to be faced despite economic growth of 2.0 per cent last year in one of the few countries, along with China, to have weathered the impact of coronavirus.

Vietnam is projecting an average annual gross domestic growth of 7 per cent over the next five years, with congress agreeing priorities for the economy and other areas.

Messages of support and solidarity were received from hundreds of parties in 92 countries, praising the CPV for its efforts in improving living standards and developing society.

The Communist Party of Britain expressed support for the CPV and said that under its leadership it had become an “important force in the international arena.”

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) insisted its success proved “the supremacy of socialism and the humanitarian nature of Marxism-Leninism” while the Communist Party of the Russian Federation said the CPV “is a pioneer of the Vietnamese nation, which has experienced hardships. 

“It is a self-sacrificing example in the struggle for national freedom and the future of socialism.” 

The CPV was founded in 1930 by Ho Chi Minh and fought successful wars, first against French colonialism and then US imperialism.

While it is the ruling party in Vietnam, the country has no paramount ruler and is led by the so-called four pillars: the CPV general secretary, the president, the prime minister and the chair of the national assembly.