Seventh National Party Congress: Comprehensive reform, leading nation on the way towards socialism

The seventh National Party Congress takes place in Hanoi from June 24-27, 1991. It is attended by 1,176 delegates, representing 2 million Party members nationwide. Comrade Do Muoi is elected Party General Secretary (Photo: VNA)

Party General Secretary Do Muoi and President of the Council of State Vo Chi Cong host a reception in Hanoi for Kaysone Phomvihane, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party and President of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic who is on an official visit to Vietnam, on October 12, 1991 (Photo: VNA)

Party General Secretary Do Muoi and Chairman of the Council of Ministers Vo Van Kiet visit China, marking the official normalisation of relations between the two countries from Nov. 5-10. In the photo: the signing of the Vietnam-China trade agreement and a provisional Treaty on the Settlement of Land Border Issues in Beijing, on November 7, 1991. (Photo: VNA)

President of the State Council Vo Chi Cong signs an order to promulgate the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, on April 13, 1992. (Photo: VNA)

State President Le Duc Anh speaks at a banquet in honour of French President François Mitterrand who is on an official visit to Vietnam, at the Presidential Palace, on February 9, 1993. (Photo: VNA)

Vietnam basically developed a foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, openness, diversification and multilateralisation of external relations in the 1991-1996 period. In the photo: A welcome ceremony is held for Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet during his official visit to the UK, London, on July 5, 1993 (Photo: VNA)

Party General Secretary Do Muoi receives co-Presidents of the Cambodian Provisional Government, Prince Norodom Ranariddh and Hunsen during their courtesy call, Hanoi, in August 1993 (Photo: VNA)

In 1994, UNESCO recognised Ha Long Bay as a World Natural Heritage. In 2000, it was honoured for the second time as World Geological Heritage for its geological and geomorphological values. (Photo: VNA)

The trans-Vietnam 500kV ultra-high voltage power transmission line started in April 1992 and completed on May 27, 1994, plays a decisive role in electrifying the country and ending the chronical shortage of electricity in the central region and the south. In the photo: A worker of Hoa Binh Power Transmission Company maintains the 500KV line (Photo: VNA)

US President Bill Clinton declares the normalisation of diplomatic relations with Vietnam on the night of July 11, 1995. (Photo: VNA)

ASEAN Foreign Ministers and ASEAN Secretary General Dato Ajit Singh welcome Vietnam as the seventh official member of ASEAN. (Photo: VNA)

Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam and US Secretary of State Warren Christopher sign a protocol, officially establishing the Vietnam-US diplomatic relations, in Hanoi, on August 5, 1995. (Photo: VNA)

State President Le Duc Anh meets US President Bill Clinton in October 1995, during his trip to New York to attend a ceremony to mark the 50th founding anniversary of the United Nations - the first visit by a Vietnamese head of state to the US. (Photo: VNA)