Full remarks by General Secretary, President To Lam at 50th anniversary of Sai Gon-Gia Dinh named after President Ho Chi Minh

Distinguished leaders and former leaders of the Party, the State, and the Viet Nam Fatherland Front,

Respected revolutionary veterans, Heroic Vietnamese Mothers, Heroes of the People's Armed Forces, Labor Heroes, and leaders of Ho Chi Minh City across various periods,

Dear comrades, compatriots nationwide, overseas Vietnamese communities, and international delegates,

Dear residents of Ho Chi Minh City,

Today, in a solemn, emotional, and proud atmosphere, we are delighted to participate in the 50th Anniversary of Saigon - Gia Dinh City honorably bearing the name of our beloved President Ho Chi Minh. This is a political, historical, and cultural event of profound significance; it is an occasion for the entire Party, people, and army to devoutly commemorate the monumental contributions of the great President Ho Chi Minh. It is also a time to express our deep gratitude to past generations of revolutionary leaders, heroes, fallen soldiers, Heroic Vietnamese Mothers, compatriots, comrades, soldiers of the People's Armed Forces, veterans, and all those who engaged in the Revolution as they devoted and sacrificed their lives for national independence and freedom, for the liberation of the South and national reunification, as well as for the growth and development of the City named after Uncle Ho.

On behalf of the leadership of the Party and the State, I would like to extend my warmest regards, deepest affections, and best wishes to the Party Committee, the administration, the armed forces, and the people of Ho Chi Minh City, as well as to the revolutionary veterans, Heroic Vietnamese Mothers, heroes, distinguished guests, and all compatriots and comrades of the City.

Dear compatriots and comrades,

Fifty years ago, on July 2, 1976, the 6^th National Assembly officially resolved to rename Saigon - Gia Dinh City as Ho Chi Minh City. This decision was not merely an administrative milestone, but the crystallization of the sacred affection and profound gratitude of our people toward President Ho Chi Minh. It stands as a testament to the resilient and indomitable revolutionary tradition, alongside the monumental contributions of Saigon - Gia Dinh in the struggle for national liberation and reunification. Concurrently, it carries the profound trust, high expectations, and immense responsibility bestowed upon a city holding a uniquely strategic position in our country.

To speak of Ho Chi Minh City is to speak of a land rich in traditions of patriotism, revolution, solidarity, and creativity—a land that consistently encapsulates the noble values of the nation while relentlessly pioneering new aspirations. It was from this very city, at Nha Rong Wharf 115 years ago, that the patriotic youth Nguyen Tat Thanh departed to find a path for national salvation, initiating a historic journey to liberate the nation and the country. Whenever Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Rong Wharf are mentioned, the familiar melody and sacred memory of "from this city, He departed" resonate deeply within the consciousness of every Vietnamese, marking the starting point of a magnificent journey. From His point of departure, our nation found the path to independence and freedom; and more than six decades later, that very city was liberated, fully reunified within the heart of the Fatherland, and honorably named after our beloved President Ho Chi Minh.

Even during the years when the country was temporarily divided, a firm belief in ultimate victory burned brightly in the hearts of compatriots nationwide, looking forward to the day the South would be liberated, the nation would be reunified, and this Southern city would radiantly bear the golden name of Ho Chi Minh. Today, after 50 years, we realize even more profoundly that this name is not only a historical pride but also an imperative for the present and the future; it is not just a noble title, but a benchmark for the City to examine, refine, and elevate itself daily.

Bearing the name of President Ho Chi Minh is a tremendous honor, as well as a special political, ethical, and historical responsibility. The City named after Uncle Ho must spearhead innovation and creativity; it must be dynamic yet disciplined, modern yet humane, prosperous yet compassionate, and deeply integrated yet steadfast in preserving its identity and national interests. Its development must be rapid, sustainable, and inclusive, dedicated entirely to the happiness of its people.

Dear compatriots and comrades,

Looking back at the past half-century, we have every right to take deep pride in the immense and comprehensive achievements attained by the Party Committee, the administration, and the people of Ho Chi Minh City. From an urban area heavily scarred by war, facing countless hardships following national reunification, the City has progressively restored production, stabilized people's livelihoods, safeguarded revolutionary achievements, built a strong administration, and ensured national defense and security, thereby laying a solid foundation for long-term development.

Throughout the 40 years of the Doi Moi (Renovation) era, the City has consistently been a pioneer, daring to think, daring to act, and daring to take responsibility for the common good. It has boldly piloted numerous new models, contributing to enriching and perfecting the Party's renovation guidelines as well as the State's policies and laws. This is an invaluable contribution, measured not only by growth figures but also by its pioneering spirit, far-reaching impact, and the compelling persuasion of its practical success.

Ho Chi Minh City has firmly established its role as the economic locomotive, a major hub for finance, commerce, services, science and technology, education and training, healthcare, culture, foreign affairs, and international integration. The City is a convergence point for capital, knowledge, labor, and creativity—a place where millions of people from all regions of the Fatherland come to study, work, establish careers, and contribute. In 2025, the City continued to lead the nation in state budget revenue, surpassing the milestone of 800,000 billion VND. Behind this figure lies the sweat, wisdom, and trust of the people, enterprises, cadres, Party members, and workers.

Alongside economic progress, the City's urban landscape has undergone robust development. New urban areas, high-tech zones, export processing zones, industrial parks, commercial centers, hospitals, schools, cultural works, and regional transport infrastructure have fundamentally transformed the development landscape. The operationalization of Metro Line 1 (Ben Thanh - Suoi Tien) marks a major milestone, paving the way for public transit, smart cities, green urbanism, and interconnected development.

The City has also cultivated and projected a highly distinct cultural identity: open, tolerant, generous, compassionate, and creative. In times of hardship, the City grows more compassionate; under trial, it becomes more united; amid volatility, it demonstrates greater resilience and fortitude. Movements to care for the poor, meritorious individuals, workers, migrant laborers, children, and vulnerable groups; noble gestures during natural disasters and pandemics; and silent yet persistent acts of kindness have formed the profound humanistic depth of the City named after Uncle Ho.

On behalf of the Party and State leadership, I warmly commend, acknowledge, and congratulate the immense achievements of the Party Committee, administration, armed forces, and people of Ho Chi Minh City over the past 50 years. I sincerely thank generations of cadres, soldiers, intellectuals, entrepreneurs, artists, ethnic and religious communities, overseas Vietnamese, and international friends who have joined hands to build the City we see today.

Dear compatriots and comrades,

Taking pride in tradition is to gain greater confidence. Expressing gratitude for the past path is to define today's responsibilities more clearly. Looking back at 50 years is not to rest on our laurels, but to step forward more forcefully into a new era. Our country is entering a new era of development with higher requirements, heavier tasks, greater opportunities, and more acute challenges. Ho Chi Minh City must align with this current; indeed, it must serve as the driving force of this current. The City must continue to lead, pioneer, experiment, breakthrough, and inspire.

Following the administrative boundary realignment, the City's development space has expanded, bringing a larger scale, greater potential, and higher governance demands. The new Ho Chi Minh City converges highly vital advantages: an urban, financial, commercial, and service hub; an industrial, technological, and innovative space; a gateway for seaports, logistics, marine economy, tourism, and energy; alongside a vast, knowledgeable, responsible, and compassionate workforce. We must develop Ho Chi Minh City into a strategic, polycentric, and multi-polar megacity with regional and international competitiveness.

To materialize this aspiration, the decisive factors will be a new mindset, new institutions, new infrastructure, new governance, a new cadre cohort, and new execution methods. Matters that are clear must be executed immediately; bottlenecks must be urgently removed; and responsibilities must be strictly borne by the competent authorities at their respective levels. We must not allow sound policies to lag in implementation, let collective responsibility obscure individual accountability, or let immense potential be held back by obsolete methods.

In the coming period, I request the Party Committee, the administration, and the people of the City to focus on successfully implementing six key tasks:

First, continue to build a clean, strong, united, disciplined, upright, action-oriented, and people-serving Party Committee and political system. The City's cadres must possess steadfast political mettle, a modern development mindset, exemplary ethics, and high execution capacity. It is vital to uphold individual and leadership accountability, resolutely combat corruption, wastefulness, and negativity, while staunchly protecting cadres who dare to think and dare to act for the common good.

Second, transform specific mechanisms and policies into developmental advantages, competitive capacity, and tangible, measurable outcomes: completed projects, new products, enhanced public services, more jobs, a more favorable investment environment, and a higher quality of life for the people. The City needs to pioneer administrative reform, digital governance, interconnected data, and transparent public services. It should proactively propose superior mechanisms for a special municipality, an international financial center, innovation, digital transformation, green transition, and talent attraction.

Third, plan the development space toward a polycentric, modern, green, and smart model, closely connected with the Southeast region, the Mekong Delta, the Central Highlands, the entire nation, and the world. Infrastructure must stay one step ahead, but with focus and priority to ensure investment efficiency. Priority must be given to public transit, urban railways, ring roads, expressways, seaports, logistics, digital infrastructure, energy, healthcare, education, culture, housing, flood prevention, and green spaces.

Fourth, vigorously renew the growth model, taking science and technology, innovation, digital transformation, green economy, circular economy, and data economy as the primary drivers. The City needs to strongly develop its international financial center, high-tech industries, logistics, marine economy, tourism, healthcare, education, and cultural industries, while fostering an environment where large private enterprises can thrive, startups can develop, and young people can innovate and contribute.

Fifth, better care for the people's livelihoods, viewing this as the ultimate goal and the most substantive measure of development. The City's residents must enjoy a safer living environment, more convenient transportation, more affordable housing, better schools, better hospitals, more cultural spaces, and wider green spaces. Workers, laborers, immigrants, the urban poor, and vulnerable groups must receive focused attention through specific, practical, and well-targeted policies.

Sixth, build Ho Chi Minh City into a dynamic, distinctive, and responsible hub for international integration, while firmly maintaining national defense, security, social order, economic security, cybersecurity, data security, urban security, and human security. The more the City opens up and integrates, the more it must preserve political stability, legal discipline, and a peaceful, safe, and friendly environment.

Dear compatriots and comrades,

During his lifetime, our beloved Uncle Ho always reserved a deeply profound affection for our Southern compatriots, once saying: "The South is always in my heart." This sacred affection is both a tremendous honor and a profound reminder to the City bearing His name today: it must relentlessly strive to grow stronger, more humane, and more compassionate, to remain worthy of the trust, expectations, and pride of the entire country. This responsibility belongs not only to the City's leadership or the political system, but to every citizen of Ho Chi Minh City—those who contribute daily to making the sacred, noble name the City honorably bears shine even brighter.

I hope the Party Committee, the administration, and the people of the City will continue to nurture grand aspirations, take bold actions, and assume great responsibilities. Every cadre must ask themselves: Has my work today been worthy of the City named after Uncle Ho? Every agency must ask itself: Has our service satisfied the citizens and businesses? Every locality and unit must ask itself: Have we effectively tapped into our potential, swiftly cleared bottlenecks, and efficiently utilized development resources?

Over the past fifty years, Ho Chi Minh City has written a glorious chapter, making its golden name shine. In the next fifty years, the City must write a new development chapter—larger, more beautiful, more worthy, and more radiant. We firmly believe that with its heroic, united, dynamic, creative, and compassionate tradition, under the leadership of the Party, with the companionship of the entire country and the immense strength of its people, Ho Chi Minh City will surely rise robustly to become a civilized, modern, and compassionate metropolis, where the name Ho Chi Minh shines ever brighter through its achievements, culture, people, aspirations, and responsibility to the Fatherland.

Once again, I wish the leaders and former leaders of the Party and State, Heroic Vietnamese Mothers, revolutionary veterans, distinguished guests, compatriots, comrades, and soldiers of Ho Chi Minh City good health, happiness, and success.

May our beloved Ho Chi Minh City forever remain worthy of its sacred, noble title: The City named after our beloved President Ho Chi Minh.

Thank you very much.