After being elected by the 16th National Assembly as President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for the term 2026 - 2031, General Secretary and President To Lam performed the oath-taking ceremony and spoke before the entire National Assembly and compatriots and voters nationwide.
In his inaugural speech, General Secretary and President To Lam emphasized: "In performing the tasks of General Secretary and President, the top priority is to thoroughly grasp and practice the viewpoint "The people are the root", strongly promote the subjective role of the People, mobilize the strength of the People and the great national unity bloc. The highest goal and ultimate destination is for the People to enjoy the fruits of development.
I hope to receive close coordination from the Central Executive Committee, the Politburo, the Secretariat, the National Assembly, the National Assembly Standing Committee, the Government, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuracy, the Vietnam Fatherland Front and member organizations, departments, ministries, branches, localities and compatriots, comrades, soldiers across the country, and our compatriots abroad, so that I can fulfill the noble mission of the Head of State: To protect, build, and develop the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland and serve the people.
With a thousand-year tradition of building and defending the country and the great heritage values from our forefathers, with the desire to rise continuously, iron will and resilient bravery, with the truth "Vietnam is one, the Vietnamese nation is one", with the determination not to let the country fall behind, not to let the People lose the opportunity to develop, must act for the long-term and bright future of the nation, with the support and assistance of international friends, Vietnam will definitely continue to write new brilliant chapters in the development journey, completing the strategic goals set out.
The noteworthy highlight in the inauguration speech is the message: "The people are the root". This is not a new slogan, but in the context of the country entering a new stage of development, new requirements, new pressures, that message has special significance. Because all institutional reforms, streamlining the apparatus, economic development, digital transformation, green transformation or international integration, in the end, must answer a fundamental question: What does the people get, is people's life better, are development opportunities expanded?
When General Secretary and President To Lam emphasized the highest goal, the ultimate destination is for the people to enjoy the fruits of development, that is a clear affirmation of the nature of development. Development is not only measured by growth figures, large projects, rankings or economic indicators. Development must be present in the meals of workers, in the home of workers, in the learning opportunities of children in difficult areas, in the quality of medical examination and treatment of people, in the safety in cyberspace, in the belief that everyone has the opportunity to rise up through genuine labor.
The message "People are the root" also sets very high requirements for the State apparatus. If the people are the root, then all policies and guidelines must start from life, from the problems people are facing. Administrative reform cannot just shorten a few on-paper procedures, but must make people travel less, wait less, and incur unnecessary costs. Digital transformation cannot just build more platforms and applications, but must help people easily access public services, be protected by personal data, and not be left behind. Simplifying the apparatus cannot just reduce focal points, but must improve service quality, so that the government is closer to the people, closer to the people, and solves people's problems faster.
In his inauguration speech, General Secretary and President To Lam also mentioned the close coordination between agencies in the political system, from the Central to local levels, from the National Assembly, Government, Courts, Procuracies to the Vietnam Fatherland Front and member organizations. This shows that the task of protecting, building, developing the country and serving the people is not the sole responsibility of an individual or an agency, but the common responsibility of the entire system.
The role of the Vietnam Fatherland Front in strongly promoting the subjective role of the People, mobilizing the strength of the People and the great national unity bloc is very large. The country is facing many great opportunities but also many challenges: Requirements for rapid and sustainable growth, pressure to improve labor productivity, requirements for strong reform of the apparatus, risk of technological backwardness, climate change, population aging, gap between rich and poor, social security issues and people's belief in the effectiveness of policy implementation. To overcome these challenges, we cannot just rely on general political determination, but need specific actions, specific responsibilities and specific results.
The 11th National Congress of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, term 2026 - 2031 is an event of important socio-political significance, demonstrating the strength of the great national unity bloc in the new era, taking place immediately after the success of the 14th National Congress of the Party and the election of National Assembly deputies of the 16th term, People's Councils at all levels for the 2026 - 2031 term. The Congress is a historical milestone, opening the term of operating a new apparatus with a new position, stature and development path after completing the policy of arranging socio-political organizations and mass associations assigned by the Party and State to be directly under the Vietnam Fatherland Front.
With the motto "Solidarity - Democracy - Innovation - Creativity - Development", the Congress identified directions, goals and action programs for the 2026 - 2031 term to meet the requirements of reality. At the same time, affirming the political core role of the Vietnam Fatherland Front in building and promoting patriotic traditions, the strength of great national unity, joining hands and hearts with the entire Party, army, and nation to successfully implement the country's development goals to 2030, vision to 2045.
