Vietnam Eyes Sustainable Environment and Advanced Development Model by 2045

Vietnam's Communist Party has outlined a roadmap to achieve comprehensive environmental goals by 2045, reforming the country's development model. Based on Conclusion No. 75-KL/TW adopted by the 14th Party Central Committee's third meeting, Vietnam aims to realize a clean and healthy living environment in harmony with nature, promote sustainable development, establish a modern environmental governance system, and effectively adapt to climate change. As a crucial interim target towards this goal, the country is committed to strengthening environmental governance, responding to climate change, and improving disaster prevention and control by 2030 to better protect people's lives, health, property, and livelihoods. The conclusion emphasizes that environmental protection and climate change response must be central to development decisions, serving as the foundation for green transition, enhanced growth quality, productivity, competitiveness, and sustainable economic development. Furthermore, Vietnam is promoting the development of climate-resilient urban areas to cope with increasingly extreme impacts from nature. This is detailed in Politburo's Action Programme No. 33-CTr/TW (dated July 28, 2026), which sets ambitious economic targets, including an average annual GDP growth of at least 10% from 2026–2030, 8–8.5% from 2031–2035, and around 7.5% from 2036–2045. Vietnam has achieved remarkable socio-economic progress over the past eight decades, marked by strong economic growth, rising incomes, and major improvements in social welfare. In education, reforms are underway for the 2026–2027 school year, aiming to reduce rote and exam-oriented learning while promoting self-study, practical experience, independent thinking, creativity, and problem-solving. This also includes cutting administrative and formalistic burdens on teachers. Additionally, Vietnam has rolled out a national program for 2026–2030 to strengthen child protection and prevent and reduce child labour in violation of the law. The tourism sector also shows strong performance, welcoming approximately 6.5 million visitors during the 2026 National Day holiday, an 18% year-on-year increase. Economically, from January to July 2026, total retail sales of goods and consumer service revenue reached VND 4.56 quadrillion (approximately USD 174.7 billion), up 13.1% year-on-year, indicating continued growth in the service sector. These developments underscore Vietnam's strong commitment to balancing economic growth with environmental protection and social welfare improvement, aspiring towards a sustainable future. The Communist Party of Vietnam has also articulated its National Security Strategy, which calls for integrating traditional and modern approaches, strengthening grassroots security, addressing risks at their root and at an early stage, and turning challenges into opportunities.