From the Soviet spirit, determined to build a rich and powerful Nghe An

(Baonghean) - The heroic spirit of the Nghe Tinh Soviet and the spirit of solidarity regardless of class, gender, or age that created the brilliant milestone of 30-31 in the history of the national revolution still retain their strength and value for the development process in the renovation period. The security, political, economic, cultural and social context has changed, but the core strength of the Party, the government and the entire people is still the consensus and determination towards a common goal: a rich people, a strong country.

Nghe Tinh Soviet Monument. Photo: MY

Before the Lunar New Year (late 2014), the Provincial Party Secretary, the Provincial People's Committee Chairman, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Committee held a friendly meeting to wish a Happy New Year to senior officials from Nghe An in Hanoi. Here, a successful businessman raised the question: How can Nghe An escape poverty? In my opinion, the question of how to help Nghe An escape poverty should only have been raised before the year 2000. At the time between 2014 and 2015, the question for the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People's Committee and all classes of people in Nghe An should be: How can Nghe An become rich and strong?

Resolution No. 26 - NQ/TW dated July 30, 2013 of the Politburo clearly stated: "Strive to build Nghe An into a fairly developed province by 2015, creating the foundation to basically become an industrial province by 2020, a center of finance, trade, tourism, education - training, science - technology, health, culture, sports, and high-tech industry of the North Central region".

This resolution demonstrates the Party’s will and determination towards Nghe An – the homeland of President Ho Chi Minh, and is at the same time an honor and a heavy task placed on the Party Committee, government and people of Nghe An. The goal of becoming a well-off and industrial province is not a simple one, posing many challenges for the province in the near future.

In the past 3-4 years, Nghe An has had positive changes in development and innovation. In particular, the investment attraction sector, especially foreign direct investment, has made remarkable progress. These achievements have been recognized and highly appreciated by the Politburo, the Government and ministries, departments and branches at the Central level, and are the result of the efforts and struggles of the Party Committee, the government and more than 3 million people of the province.

View of the Nghe Tinh Soviet historical relic site (Thai Lao, Hung Nguyen). Photo: Sy Minh

For localities that need a driving force to create a breakthrough development momentum, external resources are an extremely important factor. The evidence is that in the world, any country that attracts a lot of foreign investment (FDI) and mobilizes and effectively uses human resources will develop quickly. Korea and Singapore can be considered typical models for the above law. That is an inevitable truth in the conditions of globalization and international integration, and is also a prerequisite and a solution to the problem of wealth and prosperity of countries on the path of development.

That is at the international and national level, and the domestic correlation is similar. Rich and fairly developed provinces and cities are all localities that attract a lot of foreign direct investment (FDI). Therefore, focusing on strongly improving the investment environment and promoting investment attraction is the right direction for Nghe An to achieve the goal of becoming a fairly developed province, an industrial province, etc. as set out in Resolution 26.

The general orientation is like that, how to implement it? I believe that this responsibility is not only of the level, sector, or specific subject among the 179,891 party members and more than 3 million people of Nghe An, but is a common responsibility. In terms of awareness and consciousness, if only a few individuals and collectives feel self-conscious when Nghe An has not yet achieved the stature worthy of Uncle Ho's homeland, the homeland of the Soviet Union, with its undeniable natural and human potential advantages, it cannot create the motivation to move the entire political and social apparatus. That sense of self-esteem and progress must permeate every party member, worker, civil servant, soldier and citizen of the province, thereby creating a combined strength to successfully carry out the great offensive to liberate all resources for production development, improve the lives of the people and the province's economy in general.

In terms of action, each individual, each collective, each sector, and each level has the responsibility to consult, contribute ideas and efforts to the development and innovation of the province. This great undertaking can only be absolutely successful if we can apply the spirit of democracy and promote individual strength and intelligence for the benefit of the community.

Up to this point, it can be affirmed that the heroic spirit of the Nghe Tinh Soviet and the spirit of solidarity regardless of class, gender, and age that once created the brilliant milestone of 30-31 in the history of the national revolution still retain their strength and value for the development in the renovation period. The security, political, economic, cultural and social context has changed, but the core strength of the Party, the government and the entire people is still the consensus and determination towards a common goal: a rich people, a strong country.

The door to integration has opened, the international environment is very attractive but also has many challenges and risks. Nghe An province is making efforts to break through on the new track, that is something that needs to be recognized. But at the same time, seriously assessing the shortcomings and problems that are hindering Nghe An's development with the spirit of "looking straight at the truth, stating the truth, evaluating the truth correctly", it must be admitted that our province has not yet reached a level of development commensurate with its potential, strengths as well as the tradition of "taking the lead" of the heroic Soviet generation.

From now until 2020, the journey to reach the goal set by Resolution 26 of the Politburo has entered the final stage. From where we are standing to the goal, there is still a significant distance and the further we go, the greater the challenge. In fact, that is a reality on the development path of every locality and the whole country, not just Nghe An. The driving force for the Party Committee, government and people of Nghe An to overcome those challenges is the tradition, indomitable will and solidarity crystallized from valuable historical lessons.

Hung Nguyen had a good summer-autumn rice crop in 2015. Photo: SM

The Nghe Tinh Soviet is a miracle in the history of the Vietnamese revolution. Achieving the goals set by Resolution 26 from now until 2020 will also be a miracle in the development and construction of the province in particular and the country in general. Only with the Soviet spirit and the outstanding determination of more than 3 million Nghe An people can we fully implement the content and goals of Resolution 26 of the Politburo.

Looking forward to the 17th Nghe An Provincial Party Congress, I believe that the Soviet spirit will be the torch that lights up the emulation spirit of the entire Party, government and people of the province, and will be the slogan, guiding the ideology and actions of Nghe An from now until 2020. When the Soviet spirit is aroused and spreads strongly to every individual and every collective, Nghe An will certainly quickly become a rich and powerful province, the economic, cultural and social center of the North Central region, entering the vanguard in the period of innovation, continuing the heroic revolutionary tradition of the previous generation.

All for the prosperity of Nghe An! I always trust the Party Committee, government and people of Nghe An and am proud to be from Nghe An.

Associate Professor, Dr. Major General Le Van Cuong

(Former Director of the Institute for Strategic and Scientific Studies, Ministry of Public Security)