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12 January 2011
Last updated at 00:01 ET
The five-yearly congress of Vietnam's governing Communist Party has begun in the capital, Hanoi.
The main task of the meeting is to choose new leaders for the party to guide the country through rising economic challenges.
A new central committee with 200 members will be selected at the end of the nine-day meeting.
Some 1,400 delegates opened the meeting with the singing of the Communist anthem, the Internationale.
The delegates' selection will give some indication of the party's future direction.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and other top leaders were seated on red chairs at the front of the meeting hall, near a bust of the country's founding president, Ho Chi Minh.
The BBC's Nga Pham, who is at the congress, says the Communist Party is determined to hold on to its monopoly on power, but in order to do so, it will need strong, energetic and reform-minded people at the helm.
She says little change in policy is expected at the meeting, but the new leadership will have to find ways to renew old socialist ideas seen by many as impeding economic development.
Despite enjoying good growth figures, the country faces testing issues, such as high inflation, a budget deficit and the collapse of state-owned companies.
A socio-economic strategy for the next decade, to be debated at the congress, pledges to carry out reforms long sought by foreign investors. These include the need for a more skilled workforce, better infrastructure, and more efficient state enterprises.
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The main task of the meeting is to choose new leaders for the party to guide the country through rising economic challenges.
A new central committee with 200 members will be selected at the end of the nine-day meeting.
Some 1,400 delegates opened the meeting with the singing of the Communist anthem, the Internationale.
The delegates' selection will give some indication of the party's future direction.
Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and other top leaders were seated on red chairs at the front of the meeting hall, near a bust of the country's founding president, Ho Chi Minh.
The BBC's Nga Pham, who is at the congress, says the Communist Party is determined to hold on to its monopoly on power, but in order to do so, it will need strong, energetic and reform-minded people at the helm.
She says little change in policy is expected at the meeting, but the new leadership will have to find ways to renew old socialist ideas seen by many as impeding economic development.
Despite enjoying good growth figures, the country faces testing issues, such as high inflation, a budget deficit and the collapse of state-owned companies.
A socio-economic strategy for the next decade, to be debated at the congress, pledges to carry out reforms long sought by foreign investors. These include the need for a more skilled workforce, better infrastructure, and more efficient state enterprises.
Webmaster Forum | SEO Forum | Coding Forum | Graphics Forum</b>