This assessment was made by Professor Carl Thayer of the Australian Defence Force Academy under the University of New South Wales, in an interview with a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Australia.

According to Prof. Thayer, the first 15 years following reunification were an exceptionally challenging period for Vietnam. The country faced numerous hardships, including the border wars in the southwest and north, along with the US-imposed embargo on aid and trade, which placed significant strain on Vietnam’s post-war recovery and development efforts.

The key factor in extricating Vietnam from a socio-economic crisis was the strategic far-sighted vision of its leadership to carry out the renewal (doi moi) of the country’s economic system, open Vietnam to the outside world, and allow the private sector to grow.

Vietnam has not only diversified and multilateralised its foreign relations through strategic partnerships as well as active and proactive international integration by joining APEC, ASEAN, and the World Trade Organisation, but also acquitted international prestige as a reliable partner, Prof. Thayer said.

Today, Vietnam encourages technology transfer and co-production and has acquired the knowledge and skills to manufacture computer chips and electric vehicles, he added.

Meanwhile, Cuban war correspondent Luis Arce, who witnessed the April 30, 1975 victory, said the event was one of the most important milestones in contemporary history.

Since then, Vietnam has entered a new era, and in a short period of time, achieved economic and institutional successes in all fields, Arce said.

He emphasized that Vietnam and its people have risen from the ashes of war like a “phoenix,” and demonstrated to the world that global integration is the path to development, and that economic competition is a tool for cooperation to ensure global peace and the welfare of humanity.