Lâm, 66 years old, has been the Minister of Public Security since 2016 and was accepted at the Political Bureau (Politburo) in 2021.
His candidacy followed the resignation of Võ Văn Thưởng in March, after being the president just for one year, but failed in eradicating corruption.
After going through an approval process from the parliament, which is predicted to be carried out this week, General Lâm will take over as the President.
Lâm, the party's Anti-Corruption Director Deputy Committee since 2021, played an important role in the anti-corruption campaign which caused thousands of officials and famous company executives to be brought to justice or forced to resign.
The anti-corruption movement was popular among the public. Apart from political leaders, other big business figures were also dragged into the purge. One of them was the property tycoon Trương Mỹ Lan, who was sentenced to death last month for a billion-dollar fraud case.
All this happened when Vietnam attempted to increase foreign investment, especially from the US. Vietnam is currently trying to develop its economy from low-value manufacturing employment to high-tech industry.
Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi in April 2024 visited Vietnam to attend and lead together the 5th Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation in Hanoi. During that visit, Minister Retno Marsudi also had an honorary visit to the prime minister of Vietnam Phạm Minh Chính. The meeting was about the two countries' commitment to enhancing trade value up to US$18 billion by 2028.
This was quite ambitious amid the unending world's political turmoil. Therefore, a strong commitment by the next leader of Vietnam will be necessary to achieve the target jointly by the two countries.
Indonesia, through Minister Retno Marsudi, also emphasized the importance of enhancing cooperation in eradicating transnational crime that keeps rising in the region, especially online scam-related human trafficking.
The election of Vietnam's new president is expected to be smooth, for it would affect national and regional stability, especially in strengthening the world's trust in Vietnam.
Indonesia especially hoped the new president of Vietnam would maintain the commitment to enhancing bilateral relations that include many sectors, starting from trade, resilience, security, and maritime cooperation.