Hanoi (VNA) -❀ Since its establishment, the Communist Party of Vietnam has held 11 Congresses. Each Congress is considered an important historical milestone in recognising the Vietnamese revolution’s victories, achievements and lessons.

The eighth National Party Congress in 1996 aimed for continuing renewal and speeding up industrialisation and modernisation. The eighth National Party Congress took place in Hanoi from June 28 to July 1, 1996 with the participation of 1,196 delegates representing 2 million Party members nationwide and 40 foreign delegations. The congress reviewed the renewal in the past decade to draw major lessons and defined the 1996-2000 period as an extremely important phase of the national industrialisation and modernisation. In the period, the tasks were to mobilise all resource, seize opportunities, surmount challenges, push up the renewal process comprehensively and simultaneously, and continue to promote the development of the multi-sectoral economy that operates in line with the market mechanism under the State management and along socialist orientations. The congress resolved to strive to achieve and surpass the goals adopted in the socio-economic stabilisation and development strategy to 2000, including posting a fast, highly-effective and sustainable economic growth rate, addressing burning social issues, ensuring national defence and security, improving the people’s living conditions, scaling up accumulation of internal economic strength, thus creating a solid premise for higher development at the beginning of the next century. The congress elected a 170-member Central Committee, which elected a 19-member Political Bureau. Do Muoi was re-elected Party General Secretary at this congress (to be continued).-VNA