Hanoi is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its liberation in ajoyous and proud atmosphere and a spirit over a thousand years old – adriving force for the capital city’s modernisation process.

The sound leadership of the Party and President Ho Chi Minh, thecommand of General Vo Nguyen Giap and the sacrifice of the people duringthe nine-year resistance war led to the celebrated Dien Bien PhuVictory. On October 10, 1954, the people of Hanoi welcomed thevictorious troops who returned to liberate the capital city.

“From a city with a small economy and population, Hanoi has risenstrongly from the debris of war, affirming its role as a major nationalhub,” Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Pham Quang Nghi told theVietnam News Agency on the occasion.

Harbouringvast potentials, spiritual and material strengths, glorious traditionsand noble dignities, Hanoi has made outstanding achievements, praised byinternational friends as “the Capital City of Human Dignity” andhonoured by UNESCO as “the City for Peace”.

Theexpansion of Hanoi’s administrative boundaries in August 2008 marked anevent of strategic significance and historical importance, providingopportunities for sustainable development both today and in the future.

Over the past six years, Hanoi has strengthened itsrole as a major economic centre, with its economy growing steadily andits economic structure being positively transformed, Nghi said.

The city’s gross regional domestic product (GRDP) accounts for 10percent of the national GDP, with an economic growth rate of more than9.5 percent, 1.5 times higher than the country’s average. The municipalbudget revenues totalled 163 trillion VND (7.7 billion USD) in 2013, 2.8times higher than before the expansion in 2008, and accounting for 20percent of the country’s total budget revenue. The city’s per capitaincome reached 52.3 million VND (2,490 USD) last year.

Hanoi hasalso increased its efforts in the fields of foreign relations, globalintegration and development cooperation with other localities andinternational friends, he said, adding that the city now boasts tieswith more than 100 countries and territories.

Hover,the city’s leader noted that despite its high growth rate, Hanoi’seconomy still has a number of unsustainable features that need to beaddressed in the near future, particularly with regard to urban planningand management, land management, administrative reform andsocio-economic issues.

In the new millennium, thecapital city of Hanoi is growing day by day, with new bridges and modernurban areas emerging near the Red River, silhouetted against thehistorical Long Bien Bridge.

Efforts to preserveThang Long Imperial Citadel and the Old Quarter’s 36 ancient streetshave also been undertaken, as well as new infrastructure developmentaround the legendary Hoan Kiem Lake (Sword Lake), combining traditionand modernity.

Experiencing ups and downsthroughout its history, witnessing the return of victorious troops andrising once more from the ravages of war, Hanoi has nurtured thenational soul for more than a thousand years, and is at the heart ofthe historical roots and essence of the nation, Nghi said.

“Itis also a place for the convergence and expression of patriotism,pacifism, solidarity and aspirations for progress,” he concluded.-VNA