Defense Minister General Phan Van Giang attended and directed the event.

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Defense Minister General Phan Van Giang speaks at the event

On behalf of the Presidium, GDP Director Sr. Lt. Gen. Trinh Van Quyet emphasized that during the construction, combat, victory and development of the military, the Party and President Ho Chi Minh have always defined that among the factors that create the synergy and combat strength of the military, political strength is the most important factor that carries decisive significance.

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GDP Director Sr. Lt. Gen. Trinh Van Quyet addresses the event.

In his direction speech, Gen. Phan Van Giang highlighted the pride that the foundation day of the Vietnam People’s Army (VPA) is also that of the GDP. Each development step, each victory of the military has in it the worthy contribution of political agencies, political cadres and staff at all levels in the military with the GDP taking the lead.

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An art performance at the event
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Delegates attend the scientific conference.

Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information and Education Nguyen Trong Nghia cited comrade Vo Nguyen Giap’s speech at the debut of the Vietnam Dissemination and Revolution Armed Team, the predecessor of the VPA, that political work is more important than military work, dissemination work is more important than operational work. He also recalled late General Nguyen Chi Thanh’s saying that Party and political work is the soul and the lifeblood of the military and also the Party’s basic principle in building the revolutionary armed forces.

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Head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information and Education Nguyen Trong Nghia addresses the event.

The conference received more than 80 research works spotlighting the 80-year-history of the GDP, affirming that the GDP is always a strategic staff agency in charge of Party and political work of the entire military.

Presentations at the conference underlined that the GDP has made suggestions to higher levels to issue policies and strategic direction on Party and political work in order to consolidate and strengthen the absolute and direct leadership of the Party over all aspects, the State’s concentrated and unified management over the military and to build a politically-strong military which is steadfast in the goals of national independence and socialism. 

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Delegates pose for a joint photo at the event.

Many presentations emphasized that to implement the Fatherland protection and military building missions in the new situation, the GDP should promote its glorious traditions, heighten pro-active spirit, further give recommendations, effectively realize resolutions, strategies, directives and guidance on Fatherland defense, defense consolidation, and military building. What the GDP should focus on includes the enhancement of Party building and rectification; prevention and driving back degradation in political ideology, morality, lifestyle, signs of “self-evolution,” “self-transformation”; active combat against corruption, wastefulness and negative phenomena, and “peaceful evolution,” and “depoliticization of the military”; expansion of defense diplomacy and defense cooperation; active engagement in U.N. peacekeeping operations and response to non-traditional security challenges, helping raise the position, role, and image of Uncle Ho’s soldiers and Vietnam among local people and international friends.

Concluding the event, Prof., Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang, Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics and Chairman of the Central Theory Council affirmed the GDP’s great contribution and its role in leading and directing the military to effectively perform the military’s functions and tasks under the motto “wherever troops are, there are Party and political activities.”

Translated by Mai Huong