VIETNAM’S leader To Lam was re-elected today as the general secretary of its ruling Communist Party, securing a new five-year term in the country’s most powerful position and pledging to rev up economic growth in the export powerhouse.

Mr Lam, 68, was reappointed unanimously by the party’s 180-member central committee at the conclusion of the National Party Congress.

In a speech, he said he wanted to build a system grounded in “integrity, talent, courage and competence,” with officials to be judged on merit rather than seniority or rhetoric.

No announcement was made about whether Lam will also become president. If he were to get both positions, he would be the country’s most powerful leader in decades.

The congress was framed by Vietnam’s defining national question: whether the country can transform itself into a high-income economy by 2045. During the meeting, Vietnam set a target of average annual GDP growth of 10 per cent or more from 2026 to 2030.

The gathering brought together nearly 1,600 delegates to outline Vietnam’s political and economic direction through 2031.