Focusing on the harmonious development of regions throughout the country, the platform for building the country during the transition period to socialism (supplemented and developed in 2011) affirmed: “Ensuring harmonious development between regions; promoting rapid development of key economic regions, while creating conditions for the development of areas with many difficulties;...gradually reducing the rich-poor gap between regions, and classes of population;... Socio-economic policies must be suitable to the characteristics of regions and ethnic groups.”

Over the past 20 years, the Politburo has issued six thematic resolutions and six conclusions on socio-economic development, ensuring national defence and security of six regions. Directed and organised for implementation by all levels and sectors, the resolutions have created positive changes along with socio-economic infrastructure, especially transport infrastructure, and has received investment, significantly improving connection between provinces and regions throughout the country. In the past, travel time on many roads from one locality to another took days, or even more; however, after roads were expanded, renovated, and upgraded, especially with good highways, the travel time is now measured in hours. The expressway system has never been deployed as drastically, quickly, and effectively as it has in recent years. It is estimated that the whole country currently has nearly 1,900 km of highway. Many key North-South expressways, as well as connections between dynamic economic regions, have been put into use and have become traffic arteries, rapidly changing the exchange and trade between regions while contributing to promoting socio-economic development and ensuring national defence and security. As a result, some localities and industries have had breakthrough developments, becoming bright spots of the region.

However, there is still a lot of work to be done to fully exploit the potential and advantages of each region. Institutions for development and coordination of regional economies have not been paid attention to and are slow to be concretised in law, so regional linkage is still loose; the gap between regions has not been narrowed as expected. For example, in the Northern midland and mountainous region, after 17 years of implementing the 9th Politburo’s Resolution No. 37, dated July 1, 2004, this place is still a “low-lying area” in development and a poor area of the whole country; the potentials and advantages have not been exploited effectively; traffic is much more difficult than in other areas; and so on. That is one of the “bottlenecks” that only if resolved will this difficult land have a chance to develop.

The 13th Party Congress determined to restructure the regional economy, innovate institutional links between localities in the region and between regions; promote the role of driving economic regions; pay attention to the development of difficult regions; narrow the development gap between regions; improve the quality of regional planning; innovate and perfect effective regional management institutions; promote the potential and advantages of each region in the best manner; and strengthen links between localities in the region and between regions.

Concretising the Resolution of the Congress and the six regional development resolutions that the Politburo issued is aimed at creating a new breakthrough in promoting special important roles and positions and exploiting more effectively the enormous development potential and advantages of the regions in the new period.

The resolutions have many new points with a more comprehensive and far-reaching vision; the goal is set higher, even completely new. The viewpoints, perceptions and guiding ideas in the resolutions are inherited from previous resolutions, but there are many new points to create breakthrough developments for each region, and at the same time be consistent with the general development strategy of the whole country.

Previously, regional development resolutions often determined directions and tasks for a period of 10 years, but this time, the resolutions clearly defined directions and tasks until 2030, and at the same time provides a vision until 2045, which is an implementation period of more than 20 years. The importance, role, and position of each region are comprehensively assessed, closer to the characteristics and situation of the new period. Many guiding viewpoints are expressed more clearly and more fully, such as effective exploitation and use of resources and minerals associated with protecting the ecological environment and water source security; associate economic development with well addressing social problems. Not developing at all costs but in accordance with the strategy of rapid, sustainable development, national green growth strategy, adaptation to climate change, etc. In development, people are the centre and natural laws are respected in accordance with the location and role of each region.

Regarding the goal, there are completely new defined regions, such as the Mekong Delta region. If the previous Resolution No. 21 did not mention it, this Resolution clearly describes the overall goal and some specific targets by 2030, with a vision to 2045. The Mekong Delta region is expected to become an ecological, civilised and sustainable region, imbued with river culture identity, as well as being the nation’s sustainable, dynamic and effective agricultural economic hub by 2030. By 2045, the region is projected to have a fairly good level of development compared to the whole country, with synchronous and modern socio-economic infrastructure capable of adapting to climate change. In addition, the region’s economy is anticipated to develop dynamically and effectively in accordance with natural conditions, biodiversity, culture, and people.

The new points in these resolutions demonstrate both the visions and aspirations of each region, as well as the entire Party and people, to turn the Resolution of the 13th Party Congress into reality and to make our country become a high-income country by 2045.

To have the will and determination to translate the Party’s guidelines into reality, it is firstly necessary to reach a consensus on mindset and perception. Once the mindset is clear and the perception is correct, motivation for action will be created. When officials at the upper and lower levels are unanimous, all difficulties can be overcome. This is a message frequently mentioned by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, especially when implementing major policies amid a plethora of both advantages and challenges.

After each resolution is issued, the Politburo always holds national conferences (including localities outside the regions) to inform and reach consensus in mindset and action so that the resolutions can quickly be translated into reality. This reflects the Party’s strong determination in realising this policy with the guiding principle that regional development is a political task of the whole political system at all levels and of all provinces and cities nationwide, not just the regions themselves and the localities in the regions. The development of each region is closely linked with other regions.

At the above conferences, six speeches by General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong are important guidelines for the thorough comprehension and implementation. The General Secretary highlighted three issues that are decisive in bringing the resolutions to life. Firstly, why did the Politburo discuss and issue resolutions on the socio-economic development orientations and ensuring defence-security for each region at the moment? Secondly, what are the new ideas, spirit and contents of each resolution? Thirdly, what and how should we implement the tasks set out in the Politburo’s resolutions and translate the resolutions into reality?

The implementation of regional resolutions must be aligned with action programmes to implement the resolution of the 13th National Party Congress and the resolutions of Party organisations at all levels. This is an important political mission of the whole political system. The resolutions concern many levels, agencies and localities, and are different from the specialised resolutions on a specific field where the subjects can be a sector or a locality.

If the resolutions are implemented without bold directions, clear assignments or frequent supervision, they are likely to slip into oblivion or be implemented perfunctorily. Therefore, if there is no unanimity all the way from the central level down to the local level, it is very hard to create synergy but will instead result in overlapping or vacuum spaces, or the situation in which no one yields to one another, as the General Secretary often emphasises.

Localities and central agencies need to perform their correct roles while working together in building mechanisms and policies, especially in dealing with arising issues or those remaining controversial in the implementation of the resolutions. Party committees, authorities, and people in a region are the main subjects while central agencies and ministries are the contacts to connect and serve as arbiters in mechanism implementation so as to translate resolutions into reality.

In implementing the resolutions, it is necessary to pay more attention to aligning socio-economic development with promoting the task of building the Party and the political system, especially building a competent leadership at all levels to steer the implementation of the resolutions in the right direction and meet the set goals as planned.

At national conferences on grasping the resolutions on regional development, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong focused on analysing and directing what should be done and how to translate the resolutions into reality. From the experience of success and shortcomings in the implementation of resolutions, especially resolutions on regional development, the most important thing is that the authorities at all levels need to fully understand the significance, goals and requirements of each resolution, especially the one targeting their locality. At the same time, it is necessary to be unanimous in perception and regional linkage must be the main mindset guiding the development of the whole region and localities in the region.

On the other hand, each region and localities in the region need to proactively foster the spirit of self-reliance and creativity in implementing the resolutions with the aspiration to make their families, localities, regions, and the whole country richer. To that end, functional agencies and localities must focus on fine-tuning the mechanisms and policies for regional development and regional connectivity in terms of organisation, resources, and implementation mechanisms.

Regional development must be carried out in accordance with the national socio-economic development strategy and the national planning system; while forming some key economic corridors, growth poles, and developing economic sectors, urban areas and industrial zones to create breakthroughs for the whole region. In addition, state resources should be prioritised for developing transport infrastructure in remote and extremely disadvantaged areas, regarding it as a matter of great importance to ensuring defence and security for the entire country.

“The Politburo's issuance of six Resolutions on socio-economic development, ensuring defence and security of the regions until 2030, with a vision to 2045, demonstrates the Party's special attention to the regional development and has a particularly important and necessary significance for the development of the country”, said Tran Duy Dong, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment.

Deputy Minister Tran Duy Dong said that 2021-2022 is a "golden time", as a turning point to urgently research, develop and promulgate the new Resolutions of the Politburo on socio-economic development, set out guiding viewpoints, goals, tasks, and development solutions appropriate to the new context and situation, to maximise the potential and strengths of each region, contributing to creating a breakthrough change in innovation, socio-economic development and maintenance of defence and security, in all six socio-economic regions.

The Resolutions are also an important political base for developing new mechanisms and policies to exploit and take advantage of all potential and advantages for localities in the regions, to develop quickly and sustainably in the near future.

For each socio-economic region, the Politburo's Resolutions also have their meanings. According to the Deputy Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, the Red River Delta region is the driving force for the development of the whole country, with many large localities, rapid breakthroughs and a position in promoting economic development of the region in particular and the whole country in general, such as the capital city of Hanoi, Hai Phong City, Quang Ninh Province and Bac Ninh Province. The whole region has achieved many great and comprehensive achievements in economics, culture, society, and politics. The Red River Delta needs to become the leading region in the integration process, as well as take advantage of its potential advantages and play the role of leading six regions in the country.

The Politburo’s Resolution No.30-NQ/TW dated November 23, 2022, on socio-economic development and ensuring the defence and security of the Red River Delta, was issued by the Politburo with many new viewpoints and policies. In particular, it is necessary to realise that regional connectivity plays a key role in leading the entire development process, especially in promulgating regional and local planning, to ensure connectivity in the entire region. It is also essential to promulgate specific policies for each region to take advantage of potential and advantages.

“We believe that once Resolution No. 30 is realised, it will make a very important contribution to the development of the Red River Delta in general and localities in the region in particular, bringing a better life to the people in the region,” Hung assessed.

Tran Sy Thanh, Member of the Party Central Committee, Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee, and Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee, said that the Politburo’s Resolution No. 30 continues to identify Hanoi as the centre of the Red River Delta, and a particularly important strategic area in terms of politics, economics, culture, education, science and technology, environment, defence, security and foreign affairs of the entire country.

According to him, Resolution No. 30 was built based on a very thorough assessment conducted by the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission. The resolution paid special attention to Hanoi capital city, as it determined that Hanoi plays a leading and central role in leading other localities in the Region. It sets a target that by 2030, Hanoi will be the centre and driving force for regional and national development, striving to be on par with the capitals of developed countries in the region. By 2045, Hanoi is set to be transformed into a globally connected city, with the same development level as the capitals of developed countries in the region and the world.

“Along with the Politburo’s Resolution No. 15 dated May 5, 2022 on directions and tasks for developing Hanoi Capital to 2030, with a vision to 2045, the Resolution on development of the Red River Delta will be an important political foundation to build a strategic, long-term, and specific orientation for the development of Hanoi, in the common space of the Red River Delta and the whole country,” Deputy Secretary of Hanoi Party Committee Tran Sy Thanh affirmed.