Foreign reporters who could not come to Vietnam to cover the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) due to the COVID-19 pandemic have praised the country’s initiative to allow their online coverage.

Hundreds of Vietnamese and foreign reporters have covered the 13th National Congress
of the Communist Party of Vietnam (Photo: VNA)

“Knowing that this 13th Congress of the Vietnamese Communist Party is a major event in the political life of this country, and of all its people, it seems to me that all the necessary means have been mobilised to allow journalists to cover in time real, and in excellent condition,” said Mohamed Abdoun from Algeria’s La Patrie News.

“I would also like to thank the authorities of Vietnam for allowing me to be as close as possible to this major event in the history of the country in particular and of all of Asia in general”, said Mohamed Abdoun.

It is a great pity that it is not possible to travel to Vietnam to meet on the spot because of the pandemic, said Stefan Kühner from the newspaper of the German Communist Party named “Unsere Zeit”.

“The homepage https://en-daihoi13.dangcongsan.vn in five languages was a very good source even before the Party Congress and I was happy to use it. Congratulations for this example of journalism openness,” he noted.

Amazed at the leaps that Vietnam has gained in past 35 years since Doi moi (Renewal) process, Stefan Kühner, 69, praised the leadership of the Communist Party in Vietnam over the years.

“Doi moi has grown up at 35! I remember very well the difficult situation of Vietnam due to the war and the boycott of Vietnam by the US and other countries. It is amazing what Vietnam has achieved under the leadership of the Communist Party of Vietnam in the last 35 years to eradicate poverty to make people's lives better”, the German journalist said.

Sharing this view, Yimel Díaz Malmierca from Trabajadores, a Cuban newspaper, said Vietnam's prestige in the world has grown systematically in recent decades. From being a nation devastated by a terrible war, it has gone on to lead various sectors of the regional and world economy.

“The sustained growth of the Vietnamese economy between 7% and 9% in the last 20 years says a lot about the country and how hard it has worked to bring well-being to its people,” said Yimel Díaz Malmierca.

She said the organisers of the event provided the best conditions for online coverage.

“Online coverage of the Congress is an excellent opportunity. The selected platform works optimally,” she said.

The 13th National Party Congress is being held in Hanoi from January 25 to February 2. Nearly 90 reporters from 80 foreign media outlets of 25 countries registered to cover the event online in the context of COVID-19.