Over the past 65 years of fighting, building and growing, the Vietnam People’s Army has always attached importance to the task of engaging in productive labour and developing the national economy. Under the severe conditions of the past war, units of the Armed Forces actively joined in productive labour, especially producing food, foodstuff and consumer goods in order to improve the living standards and contribute to ensuring that they could fight and win.

Under the condition of peace, the Vietnam People’s Army determines that engaging in production and helping to develop the national economy is a strategic task aimed at closely combining national defence with economy, and combining economy with national defence, thus making a contribution to bringing the cause of industrialization and modernization to victory and firmly defending the socialist Motherland of Vietnam.

During the past years, besides carrying the task of engaging in productive labour in order to improve the living standards, the Vietnam People’s Army has participated in the economic development in many fields, namely, industry, agriculture, forestry, fishing, transport, capital construction and post and telecommunication, in which it has exerted much of its efforts in the construction of many important economic project, such as Hoa Binh hydro-electric power plant, the trans-Vietnam 500 KV electric line, the Ho Chi Minh road for the support of the national industrialization and modernization. Units of the Vietnam People’s Army participating in the economic development have become a task force which performs difficult and arduous duties in restoring and developing the national economy, in reclaiming land in remote areas, in border areas and on islands. The participating of the Vietnam People’s Army in the economic development has brought about concrete effect to the socio-defence development and the consolidation of the national defence and security, and has made a contribution to the strengthening of the defence industry. Some economic-defence zones built by the armed forces have become typical models for the adjustment and rearrangement of population areas in the national level, especially in border areas and on islands. By utilizing used military technical equipment to partly meet the demand of the national welfare and people’s livelihood, a wide range of products manufactured by national defence factories are of high quality and satisfy the need of domestic consumption and for export, contributing to the growth of national economy and balancing the state budget earmarked for the defence. From the efficient earnings brought about by productive labour and economic development, the living standards of the cadres and soldier of the Vietnam People’s Army has improved with every passing day.

Through the effect of productive labour and economic development, the image of Uncle Ho’s soldiers in the front of national construction, for the aim of building a rich people, a strong country and an equitable, democratic and civilized society, has gone into the mind of Vietnamese people.

Source: ADMM