The week-long event which started on Monday in Hanoi will select the party chief, the country’s most powerful position, and set economic goals for the remainder of the decade.

The congress is taking place amid “many overlapping difficulties and challenges, from natural disasters, storms and floods to epidemics, security risks, fierce strategic competition, and major disruptions in energy and food supply chains,” Lam told delegates at the start of his speech.

Lam, who is seeking to retain his role as party chief and possibly take on the state presidency, promised to further reform the public administration after he launched the bureacracy’s most significant overhaul in decades during his brief tenure as party chief.

Lam also said Vietnam was determined to cut red tape and would promote technologies and expand global trade and ensure the country’s independence and national interests were protected.

Digitalisation will be a central driver of growth he said, and the fight against corruption would continue.