The following is the text of the greetings sent by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam on the occasion of its 12th Congress held from January 17 to 24, in Hanoi. The message was sent on January 8, 2016. DEAR Comrades, The Communist Party of India (Marxist) greets the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) on the occasion of its 12th Congress and wishes the Congress all success. We are confident that the discussions and the decisions that will be arrived at, will go a long way in strengthening the Party and the construction of a socialist society in Vietnam. On this occasion, we also greet the nearly 4.4 million members of the CPV and the people of Vietnam. The 12th Congress of the CPV is meeting at a very important juncture. The world today is facing many grave dangers – the continuing global economic crisis, spiraling wars, terrorism and climate change. The world is yet to come out of the systemic crisis of global capitalism. All the attempts of international finance capital to come out of the crisis have not only failed, but created a new crisis. Each attempt to emerge has only intensified the exploitation of the working people. The latest such attempt is the imposition of 'austerity', where many of the hard won rights of the working class are in the process of being completely withdrawn. New forms of taxes are being imposed and welfare budgets are drastically cut. Many multi-lateral trade pacts are being coercively pushed to prise open the markets and resources of developing countries for exploitation. The outcome of the recently concluded Nairobi WTO ministerial talks, testifies this fact. The social impact of the crisis is rising the rates of hunger, poverty, inequalities and unemployment. The only exception to these phenomenon, of course are the socialist countries like yours, where a systemic alternative to capitalism is being offered. There are attempts in many countries in Latin America, where the progressive governments in power are trying their best to offer relief to people by pursuing alternative policies. In order to ensure its hegemony over the entire globe and maintain uni-polarity, imperialism is intervening in the internal affairs of many countries. In West Asia, they are openly involved in a military campaign to destabilise the region and enforce a regime change in Syria. The sectarian conflict in the region, which is threatening the existence of many States, is a result of the US' strategic design to control the rich natural resources of the region. ISIS, like the Al Qaeda and many other terrorist organisations are a Frankenstein created by the US. It is the US and its allies who are squarely responsible for the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians in countries like Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan and others. The war imposed on these countries had led to the migration of millions of people. Hundreds, including infants and children have lost their lives and even those who have survived the journey are facing many hardships and an uncertain future. The consequences of the interventionist policies of the US in West Asia, North Africa, are felt throughout the entire world. Racism, terrorist attacks, religious fundamentalism and jingoistic feelings are on the rise, posing a serious threat to humanity. On the other hand, the very survival of human race is at a great risk due to the rising global temperatures. Climate change is a challenge staring before all of us. Developed countries who have been rapaciously exploiting the planet, are trying to escape from their responsibility of saving it. They had succeeded in shifting this responsibility on to the shoulders of the developing countries in the recently concluded Paris Climate Change Summit. In the process, developed countries are trying to evade their responsibility of protecting the environment. All such attempts must be resisted. Comrades, We learn that in this Congress, you will not only debate the achievements and challenges that the Party and country had faced in the past five years, but also the Do Moi policy initiated thirty years ago and also the '8 big relations' you had identified as decisive to the success of the renovation. We are happy to note that Vietnam, under the leadership of the CPV, is steadily progressing towards its goal of building a socialist country. Vietnam is one of the few countries that have registered a fall in poverty levels and transferred the benefits of economic growth to all sections of the society. Consistently adhering to Marxism-Leninism and studiously applying this science to the concrete reality of Vietnam, the CPV is leading the country on the path of progress. We sincerely hope that you would succeed in realising the goals you had set for establishing a 'prosperous country'. Comrades, The CPI(M) recently held a Plenum on Organisation in Kolkata amidst intense attacks on the Party, in order to overcome our weaknesses and build a strong Party with revolutionary character and mass line. This is an urgent necessity to meet the political challenges that the country is facing today. In spite of all the euphoric talk by the Indian government, recent statistics show that industrial manufacturing has witnessed a fall, which is bound to influence the growth rate, with which the ruling classes are extremely obsessed with. Income inequalities, poverty and unemployment are on a rise in our country. The right-wing religious fundamentalist government, has failed to address these concerns. The government is increasingly succumbing to the pressures of the US and is sacrificing the interests of our country people, as can be witnessed in the Nairobi negotiations. On the other hand, there is a deliberate attempt to divert the attention of the people from these pressing livelihood concerns, by encouraging all sorts of divisive forces. Tolerance, freedom of expression and right to organise are under severe threat. We have resolved to build a strong communist party, to meet all these challenges by mobilising the people in ever larger numbers. Dear Comrades, India and Vietnam share historic bonds of friendship and deep rooted cultural ties. Similarly our two parties too share strong bonds of solidarity and fraternal relations. On this occasion of the 12th Congress, we take this opportunity to reiterate our solidarity with the CPV and its efforts for socialist construction in Vietnam. We once again wish the Congress a great success and are confident that the decisions you will be taking, will lead to further prosperity. We are confident that the Congress will pave way for the further strengthening of fraternal relations between our two parties. Revolutionary greetings Central Committee Communist Party of India (Marxist)