Limited investment resources were to be directed towards three main objectives, namely • the development of agriculture • the expansion of consumer goods production • the expansion of trade and foreign investment relations. The policy directions announced at the end of the Sixth Party Congress in December 1986 represented a marked departure from previous policies and were the culmination of intensive internal debate about the failure of the old system to bring tangible results to the wellbeing of the Vietnamese people. While the Sixth Congress represented a critical turning point in policy direction, however, only limited details were provided about the specific policy reforms that would be implemented to bring about the desired change. The details of Doi Moi were discussed in a series of Party plena following the Party Congress, and documents from the Third and Sixth Plena clearly stated the need to move away from central planning towards indicative planning and macroeconomic policy levers (Communist Party of Vietnam 1991a, 1991c).