Hanoi (VNA) – The on-going 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV), which opened inHanoi on January 25, is a focus of attention of the media in Southeast Asiaover the last few days.

Singapore-based The Straits Times said the nine-day eventwith the participation of nearly 1,600 delegates will select new leaders andshape policy for the next five years and beyond. It also highlighted Vietnam’ssuccess in containing COVID-19, that has helped its economy outstrip much ofAsia in the past year, and further noted that Vietnam is already eyeing averageannual gross domestic product growth of 7 percent over the next five years.

Malaysia’s The Star, meanwhile, reported that the totalof 1,587 delegates representing more than 5.1 million Party members nationwide atthe congress makes this the largest number ever in the history of Partycongresses.

It quoted Mai Van Chinh, deputy head of the CPV CentralCommittee’s Organisation Commission, as saying that women and members of ethnicminority groups account for 13.99 and 11.03 percent of the delegates,respectively.

The guests will include former Party and State leaders,ambassadors, and heads of international organisations in Hanoi, representativesfrom the intelligentsia and arts community, outstanding youth union members andreligious officials, among others, it said.

Nguyen Xuan Thang, Director of Vietnam’s Ho Chi MinhNational Academy of Politics, was also quoted by The Star as saying that among thedocuments submitted to the Congress, there were “numerous new items, especiallyin terms of approach.”

The agenda of the congress focuses on reviewing theimplementation of the Resolution of the 12th Party Congress associated with theevaluation of 35 years of the implementation of “Doi moi” (Renewal) policiesand the 10-year socio-economic development strategy 2011-2020, and outlines thesocio-economic development orientations and tasks for the 2021 – 2025 period andgoals and orientations to 2030 and the national development vision to 2045, itadded.

According to the Malaysian news agency, all thepreparations for the congress have been completed, from security to logisticsand reception.

It reported that Vietnam has gone through 53 consecutivedays without any new COVID-19 cases in the community. The total confirmed casesin the country was at 1,548 with 35 deaths as of January 23.

The UK’s BBC and Financial Times and the US’s AP also ranarticles on the first day of the congress./.