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Vietnam’s top leader has hailed the country’s “victory of justice” and its rapid development, as the south-east Asian nation celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the war with the US.
At a grand military parade in Ho Chi Minh City, formerly Saigon, on Wednesday, To Lam, chief of Vietnam’s Communist party, praised the nation’s transformation from a war-torn country into one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and described its win as “a victory of justice, a victory of Vietnamese mettle, spirit and intelligence”.
“From a poor, backward nation devastated by the war and subjected to blockade and embargo, Vietnam has transformed into a developing country with near upper-middle income status, deeply integrated into the world politics, global economy and human civilisation, taking on many international responsibilities,” Lam said, according to Vietnamese state media.
“We will continue to deepen our friendly and co-operative relations with countries around the world,” Lam said on Wednesday, stressing Hanoi’s desire to “build a future of peace, prosperity, solidarity and development”.
Lam’s call for unity and deeper co-operation comes as global trade tensions have mounted since US President Donald Trump introduced high tariffs on trading partners, threatening economies including Vietnam, which in recent years has become a critical link in global supply chains.
Almost a third of Vietnamese exports head to the US and, with a 46 per cent tariff rate, Vietnam risks being one of the hardest-hit economies. It is in negotiations with the US to lower the levies after Trump paused the imposition of the sweeping levies.
The fall of Saigon on April 30 1975, marked the end of a divided Vietnam as well as the war between the communist north and the US-allied south. About 3mn Vietnamese and more than 500,000 Americans died in the war.
The tariffs threaten to strain the progress made in Vietnam-US ties in recent years.
Diplomatic ties normalised in 1995 after the US lifted economic sanctions against Vietnam, and since then, the relationship with the US has gradually improved. In 2023, Washington and Hanoi upgraded diplomatic ties to the highest possible level.
Vietnam has also built close ties with other superpowers as its economy expanded, in a foreign policy described by its Communist party as “bamboo diplomacy”.
Earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Hanoi to strengthen ties amid the escalating global trade war. Beijing has become one of the largest investors in Vietnam.
In his speech on Wednesday, Lam thanked the Soviet Union and China for their assistance in supporting Vietnam, with a nod also to Laos, Cambodia and the “progressive American people”.
More than 13,000 people, including Vietnamese citizens, troops and veterans, participated in the parade in Ho Chi Minh City, according to state media. Military contingents from China, Laos and Cambodia were also part of the parade.
Nguyen Khac Giang, a visiting fellow at Singapore’s Iseas-Yusof Ishak Institute, said Lam was the first Communist party chief to emphasise reconciliation in his remarks.
“Although subtle, this change reflects a broader shift in the leadership’s mindset. The war generation is gone; this is the first cohort of Vietnamese leaders who did not fight in the war,” he said. “For them, and for those who follow, healing the past and reconciling with millions of overseas Vietnamese will be vital to strengthening the nation.”