Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh of Vietnam (right) meets with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III in Hanoi, Vietnam, July 29, 2021. Image via Chad J. McNeeley/US Department of Defense.

HANOI — Senior officials of Vietnam’s Communist Party wrapped up on Tuesday a meeting which finalized decisions on candidates for the next top leadership of the country, party chief To Lam said, but no names were released.

Mr. Lam is viewed as the leading contender to keep the county’s most powerful post, but formal announcements are expected only at the five-yearly party congress scheduled for Jan. 19-25.

Officials who gathered for the party plenum in Hanoi on Monday and Tuesday “voted with a high level of support on the personnel nominated” for key positions, Mr. Lam said in a speech closing the plenum, which was published on the government portal.

Mr. Lam also said party officials agreed to continue on the reform of the public administration and on expanding the country’s infrastructure — both policies that he pushed during his first brief term as party chief. — Reuters

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