The word 'Trust' from Vietnam's National Party Congress

“Trust is more precious than gold” - an age-old proverb passed down by Vietnamese forebears, yet one that remains ever relevant in the new era, writes Pham Duc Son, editor-in-chief of The Investor.

The 14th National Party Congress underscored the requirement to take the happiness and satisfaction of the people as the benchmark for evaluating the performance of Party organizations and the entire political system.

Taking implementation as the yardstick

The Congress documents place particular emphasis on the stage of implementation. “Many sound policies and decisions will still ‘remain on paper’ if implementation is slow, ineffective, or distorted in the course of execution. Therefore, the documents focus on the design of action programs; mechanisms for inspection, supervision, and performance evaluation; and regard data, indicators, and public feedback as important bases for policy adjustment and accountability,” Party General Secretary To Lam stated.

Accordingly, the Congress stressed the need to focus on implementing resolutions in an action-oriented manner, ensuring substantive effectiveness and resolutely overcoming the long-standing weakness that “implementation is the weakest link.”

The Party chief pointed out that the spirit of action must be translated into concrete solutions and implemented rigorously across the entire system. Every Party committee, every Party organization, every Party member, every agency and unit - especially leaders - must proactively move from “correct awareness” to “effective implementation,” from “high determination” to “clear results,” and combine “direction and management” with “inspection, supervision, and accountability.”

Clearly identifying persistent problems such as “laws are sound but hard to enforce,” “policies pass at the legislative level but get stuck at the grassroots,” “heat at the top, coldness at the bottom,” “much talk, little action,” and “sound decisions but slow implementation” - all of which waste resources and erode public trust - the Congress affirmed its core task: “taking implementation as the yardstick.”

“Our greatest weakness is that many correct policies have not been implemented to the required standard. Therefore, this set of documents emphasizes action; elevates the responsibility of each level, each sector, and each official; and resolutely addresses the situation of ‘talking much, doing little,’ ‘speaking well but performing poorly,’ even ‘saying one thing and doing another,’ along with insufficient inspection and supervision, ambitious targets but slow rollout and low effectiveness,” the leader affirmed.

Trust is more precious than gold

“Say less, do more,” “Do it thoroughly,” and “Do it to the end” were phrases repeatedly emphasized by Party General Secretary To Lam.

The “spirit of action” highlighted at the 14th National Party Congress can be likened to a power source that reignites strong confidence among all segments of society as well as the investor and business community.

In an article written exclusively for The Investor, Bruno Jaspaert, chairman of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (EuroCham), noted that the recovery of business confidence is the foundation for a new growth cycle. He cited the Business Confidence Index (BCI) for Q4/2025, which rose by 13.5 points from the previous quarter to reach 80 - the highest level in seven years. "This is more than an impressive headline figure; it signals a clear shift in European business sentiment, from cautious recovery to strategic confidence," Jaspaert wrote.

Party General Secretary To Lam emphasized, before issuing a call to action: “Public trust in the Party does not come from words, but from deeds - from the fairness and integrity of officials, from the effectiveness of the apparatus, from equity in the distribution of benefits, and from tangible results in protecting legitimate rights and interests and in promptly and thoroughly addressing the legitimate concerns of the people and businesses.”

“Under the glorious banner of the Party, let us unite in solidarity, safeguard trust, uphold responsibility, promote wisdom, and ignite aspiration; so that every year, every month, every day after the Congress delivers concrete results and substantive change; so that the people can see, the people can believe, the people can support, the people accompany us, and the people can benefit.”

“Trust is more precious than gold” - an age-old proverb passed down by our forebears, yet one that remains ever relevant in the new era.