At the 14th Meeting of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), 6th term, held on September 8, 2021, Mr. Pham Tan Cong, Secretary of the VCCI Party Union, was elected VCCI President for the 6th term, replacing Mr. Vu Tien Loc.

Previously, on August 7, 2021, the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee appointed Cong, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Central Business Sector, as Secretary of the VCCI Party Union for the 6th tenure.

Delivering the inauguration speech, newly elected VCCI President Pham Tan Cong vowed to work his best, to wholeheartedly and dedicatedly build a powerful VCCI, protect legitimate and lawful rights and interests, and promote the development of the Vietnamese business and entrepreneur community, therefore helping build a prosperous and happy Vietnam.

Cong said that the 13th Party Congress clearly stated the country's development goals: Becoming a high middle-income country by 2030 and a developed country by 2045. The new position of the country and the new goal of the nation require VCCI to have a new vision, a new mission, a new strategy and a new way of doing things.

“Today, VCCI is a national representative of hundreds of thousands of businesses and business associations in Vietnam, and a prestigious and active member of international trade associations and organizations. But, for our country to catch up with developed countries by 2045, the Vietnamese business community and entrepreneurs must also be on par with entrepreneurs of those countries in all aspects, not only finance, technology or product, but culture, lifestyle, ethics and social prestige as well. This is an enormous ambition, but it is a challenging goal that VCCI is missioned to lead, inspire and support Vietnamese businesspeople and enterprises to achieve,” the new VCCI President affirmed.

Cong also said that, in addition to long-term and regular goals and tasks, VCCI must pay attention to urgent and immediate tasks and go with businesses to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Vietnamese business community has gathered great resources to join hands with the whole country in the fight against the epidemic but we cannot close our eye to the fact that thousands of corporate bankruptcies are reported every month, production chains are disrupted, and the business community suffers enormous loss, all likely to challenge Vietnam’s economy and position in global production chains. Therefore, the new VCCI President affirmed: “Supporting and accompanying the business community to overcome COVID-19 is an urgent task that VCCI needs to try its best to do.”

In his handover speech, former VCCI President Vu Tien Loc expressed his gratitude to the Party Central Committee, ministries, departments and branches for working closely with VCCI. He also expressed his sincere thanks to his predecessors for leaving valuable inheritances for VCCI and to members of the VCCI Executive Committee, member companies, and all VCCI employees for working with him to build the VCCI brand.

“I hope that the new President will put his trust in the VCCI Executive Committee and all the staff to uphold the tradition of solidarity and sharing, and lead VCCI to a higher plane in the coming time, fulfilling its mission of being a common roof for the business community,” he expressed.

Loc added, “Many businesses are facing life-and-death challenges caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. So, I hope that the VCCI Executive Board and all the staff will assist new President Pham Tan Cong, support the business community, promote the cause of national economic development and unite all forces to build a sustainable business community.”