People gather for a national uprising to take over the government in front of the Hanoi Opera House on August 19, 1945. (File photo)

The biggest lesson from the August Revolution was to take advantage of revolutionary opportunities to win.

Opportunities seized to raise Vietnam’s status

Vũ Quang Vinh, former editor-in-chief of Party History magazine, published by the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, said that during the August Revolution, the Communist Party of Vietnam created opportunities and took advantage of domestic and international developments to lead a national uprising to take over the government.

In the current period, the Communist Party of Vietnam has studied, analyzed, and concluded that global integration is an inevitable trend and the best  opportunity for Vietnam’s comprehensive development.

Vietnam has established strategic and comprehensive partnerships with 5 permanent UN Security Council members and diplomatic relations with 200 countries and territories. Vietnam was a non-permanent UN Security Council member in the 2008-2009 term and ASEAN Chair in 2010. It hosted the US-DPRK Summit last year.

Vietnam is currently a non-permanent UNSC member for the 2020-2021 term and ASEAN Chair for 2020.

Ambassador Ngo Quang Xuan, who was Head of the Vietnamese delegation to the UN from 1993 to 1999 and International Organizations in Geneva from 2002 to 2008, said: “We have succeeded in national renewal and participated in international organizations and at times has assumed a leadership role as stated in many resolutions of the Party Central Committee and the National Assembly. We are proud of what ASEAN and the UN have entrusted us with. Holding two important positions in one year has elevated Vietnam’s prestige and confirmed the global community’s confidence in Vietnam.”

Opportunities seized to enhance economic integration

With the advantages of a stable politics and open foreign policy, Vietnam has steadily increased its global integration to expand socio-economic development and improve national competitiveness.

Vietnam, a member of the World Trade Organization, has established trade ties with many international organizations and is an important link in the global economic network. Vietnam ratified the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2018 and signed the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) in June.

Hoang Quoc Vuong, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, said: “The EVFTA will boost Vietnam’s trade and investment ties with partners to meet the demands of consumers and businesses. The key factor will be business’s internal strength and determination to reform. Businesses must change their mindset in order to embrace the global economy and take full advantage of free trade agreements.”

The lessons of the August revolution may once again prove useful in this context.