Hanoi (ANTARA News/AFP) - Vietnam was expected on Monday to name a longtime rival of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung as its new president, a largely symbolic post in the communist nation.

Truong Tan Sang, 62, was almost certain to be confirmed for the job by a vote of the one-party National Assembly later in the day, after he was formally nominated as the sole candidate over the weekend.

Sang, the country`s ninth president, will take on a post first held by revered founding father Ho Chi Minh.

Sang has been the ruling Communist Party`s de facto number two since 2006 and mounted an aggressive challenge for the prime minister`s job before the party`s secretive January congress, which determined top leadership posts.

Those positions are being confirmed this week, and Dung is expected to be confirmed to another term as prime minister in a National Assembly vote on Tuesday, cementing his place as the country`s most powerful politician.

Despite their rivalry, the relationship between Dung and Sang is expected to be cordial as the prime minister focuses on trying to bring stability to a troubled economy, said an Asian diplomat.

"He`s not about to pick a fight with his rival," said the diplomat, requesting anonymity.

Like Dung, Sang is a native of southern Vietnam. A student militant imprisoned by the then US-backed South Vietnam regime, Sang later became mayor of Ho Chi Minh City.

Sang replaces Nguyen Minh Triet, who served one term.
(H-AK)

Editor: Ella Syafputri
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