8th National Congress of Viet Nam War Veterans' Association kicks off

The congress brought together 456 delegates representing more than three million war veterans nationwide.

Under the theme of promoting the traditions of loyalty, solidarity, exemplary conduct and innovation, the event is tasked with reviewing the association’s performance over the past term and setting priorities for the next five years.

In his opening remarks, Senior General Be Xuan Truong, Vice Chairman of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front (VFF) Central Committee, and Chairman of VWVA, said the association had successfully completed the political tasks set out by its 7th Congress despite challenges during the past term.

He highlighted war veterans’ contributions to safeguarding the Party’s ideological foundation, countering hostile and distorted views, participating in social supervision and anti-corruption efforts, and supporting national programmes on rural development, sustainable poverty reduction and social welfare.

The association has closely coordinated with relevant organisations and agencies to promote historical and traditional education, foster revolutionary values and self-reliance among young people, while strengthening its organisation, building strong associations at all levels, and developing qualified officials to fulfill assigned tasks, he added.

The 8th congress holds great significance, reviewing the achievements and lessons from the previous term, setting future directions and electing a capable leadership team to lead the association in fulfilling its missions.

Truong emphasised that the congress’s success provided strong motivation and confidence for the association to continue strengthening its role in protecting the Party, the State, the people, and the socialist system.

According to the political report presented at the congress, the VWVA continued to play an active role in Party and State building and in protecting national interests during the 2021 2026 term.

The association’s economic development and poverty reduction programmes remained effective. It currently includes 8,228 businesses, 2,045 cooperatives and more than 190,000 farms and household production models, creating jobs for over 781,000 workers.

War veterans nationwide mobilised more than 971 billion VND (nearly 37 million USD) for activities supporting people with meritorious service to the nation. The association also participated in efforts to search and repatriate the remains of fallen soldiers, helping recover 20,725 sets of remains and supporting the identification of 6,337 martyrs through DNA analysis.

In addition, war veterans helped eliminate more than 16,000 temporary and dilapidated houses and provided over 12,400 houses for members with difficult circumstances.

For the 2026 2031 term, the congress will focus on building a streamlined, efficient and strong organisational structure with exemplary leadership cadres, and accelerating digital transformation across the association.

Key targets include ensuring all members maintain strong political commitment, expanding membership among eligible veterans, increasing training for members, reducing poverty among veteran households, creating more employment opportunities, and digitising all membership and organisational records.

The draft political report also outlines five major groups of tasks and solutions, including strengthening veterans’ role in Party and State building, promoting self-reliance and economic development, protecting members’ legitimate rights and interests, expanding people-to-people diplomacy, and fostering patriotism and revolutionary traditions among young people.