The congress was attended by 1,129 delegates, representing nearly 1.9 million Party members, and 32 international delegations.

The congress learnt the following major lessons:

First, in its activities, the Party must grasp the ideology of considering “the people the roots”, building and developing people’s rights to self-mastery.
Second, the Party respects and operates according to objective rules, which are considered conditions to ensure the correct leadership of the Party.
Third, the Party must combine the strength of the nation and the era in the new situation.
Fourth, the Party must develop the political tasks of being a ruling party to lead the people to implement the socialist revolution.

The 5^th National Party Congress initiated the comprehensive Renewal process, by:

-          Restructuring production mechanisms, adjusting investment mechanisms, and focusing on three major programmes on food and foodstuff, consumer goods and export staples.

-          Implementing the policy of utilising and reforming all economic sectors, absorbing Lenin’s theoretical point of considering a multi-sectoral economy the basic feature of a transitional period.

-          Boosting socialist reform, which was considered a constant and regular task during the transitional period to socialism, with appropriate forms and steps; Building the production relationship to be adaptable with productive forces to speed up the development of productive forces.

-          Renovating the economic management mechanism by abolishing the centrally planned and subsidised economy and building a new mechanism in line with the objective truth and development level of the economy. Implementing planning work through a socialist business accounting mode in a concentrated and democratic manner.  

-          Renewing the Party leadership and State management in line with the multi-sectoral economy and new management mechanism. Increasing the efficiency of socialist State management. Identifying relations between the Party’s leadership, people’s rights, and State management to be a common mechanism in social management. Making clear the function of State management, as well as its management over the production and business operations of economic sectors. Renewing ideological thinking, increasing the revolutionary nature of cadres and Party members, and renewing the content, modes and leadership of the Party.

-          Caring for people’s living conditions, workers’ economic interests and promoting people’s rights. Regularly implementing the slogan “people know, people discuss and people inspect” for the people and by the people. Encouraging mass organisations to engage in socio-economic management, as well as economic reforms. Strengthening international solidarity and co-operation by expanding relations with all countries in the world under the principle of co-existence and peace.