The Party Committee of the northern province of Hoa Binh on September 15 convened its 16 th Congress for the 2015-2020 tenure (Source:Internet)

The Party Committee of the northern province of Hoa Binh on September 15 convened its 16 th Congress for the 2015-2020 tenure, the first of its kind to be held nationwide, with President Truong Tan Sang in attendance.

Attending the event were leaders of ministries, agencies and localities as well as more than 300 delegates representing 60,000 local Party members.

Addressing the opening ceremony, President Truong Tan Sang asked the Congress to extensively discuss shortcomings and weaknesses that need to be addressed.

In the future, the province should continue strategic breakthroughs to restructure the economy and renew its growth model while giving priority to seamless infrastructure improvements, particularly those connecting the capital city of Hanoi and the northern Delta to facilitate trade and tourism.

In the meantime, Hoa Binh needs to improve education-training with a focus on vocational training and human resources improvement, he said.

Apart from stepping up administrative reform to improve the investment climate, the province was urged to continue restructuring and developing agriculture by adopting technological advances and forming value chains from seedlings, farming, harvest, processing, branding and consumption.

Effective models of cultivating fruits and industrial plants should be multiplied, new rural construction be accelerated, and more capital inflows be put towards northern Delta connectivity.

The leader suggested Hoa Binh partner with major travel agencies to develop cultural, ecological and leisure tourism while simultaneously paying heed to socio-cultural well-being, including sustainable poverty reduction, political security and social safety and order, cracking down on crimes and drugs and Party building.

Bui Van Tinh, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the provincial People’s Council, said the local economy has expanded by 9.1 percent over the past five years. Social welfare has been ensured for all citizens, especially those living in poor and mountainous regions.

Party building and political system strengthening have seen new and positive changes, he added.

Participants pointed out existing flaws, including a slow shift to new economic models, asynchronous socio-economic infrastructure, low workforce quality and limited Party leadership in several units.

During the 2015-2020 tenure, the provincial Party Committee will focus on three strategic initiatives that cover infrastructure and workforce improvement in tandem with new-style rural construction, national defence and military tasks in the new context, and building the Party and a strong and healthy political system.

The Congress will run through September 16.-VNA