Lao Cai (VNA) - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on August 27 requestedministries, sectors and northern mountainous and midland provinces to wellorganise the implementation of policies, and action programmes to promote socio-economicdevelopment in the region, as the Party and State have adopted sufficient andsound policies and programmes.

PM Chinh made the request when chairing a conferenceannouncing the Government’s Action Programme implementing the Politburo’sResolution No.11-NQ/TW on directions to intensify socio-economic development andensure national defence and security in the northern midland and mountainousregion by 2030, with a vision to 2045, held in Lao Cai province.

According to the leader, the region has a particularly importantstrategic position in terms of politics, economy, culture, society, the environment,national defence, security and foreign affairs. It also boasts a lot ofpotential and advantages in trading with China and other member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Over the past time, the Party and State have issued andeffectively implemented many policies to promote potential and advantages andcreate motivation for the development of the region. In addition, theGovernment and the Prime Minister have regularly directed and met withlocalities to discuss tasks and solutions to remove difficulties and foster theirsocio-economic development.

As a result, the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) hasbeen continuously improved. The average growth rate in the 2005-2020 periodreached about 9.3%, with the GRDP scale hitting 688.9 trillion VND (29.4billion USD) and GRDP per capita being 54.1 million VND. Exports also increasedsharply, from 3.3 billion USD in 2013 to 41.7 billion USD in 2020, with theexport growth rate hitting 57.8% per year.

However, many potential and advantages of the region havenot been properly exploited and brought into full play, PM Chinh noted, adding that its competitiveness isnot high, and the economic scale is still quite modest and infrastructure isstill limited, especially in remote areas.

Therefore, he asked the relevant ministries, sectors andlocalities to focus on resources to address the existing shortcomings, particularlybottlenecks in transport infrastructure, logistics, digital transformation andclimate change response; speed up the disbursement of public investment; and intensifyeconomic restructuring associated with renewing the growth model.

The Ministry of Planning and Investment should work closelywith other related ministries, sectors and localities to seek measures to boostinvestment promotion and attraction in the region, he said, asking for an improvementin its business and investment environment to ensure transparency, fairness andcompetitiveness.

At the conference, representatives of the World Bank and the Asian DevelopmentBank gave recommendations on sustainable poverty reduction and transport and tourisminfrastructure development for the region, while representatives from the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO) andthe Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) showed their hope that the region will have openerpolicies and synchronous infrastructure so that their countries’ enterprises canexpand cooperation and development in the region.

The Prime Minister and delegates witnessed the hand-over ofinvestment certificates and memoranda of understanding on investmentcooperation in 14 northern mountainous and midland provinces, namely Ha Giang,Cao Bang, Lao Cai, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Tuyen Quang, Yen Bai, Thai Nguyen, PhuTho, Bac Giang, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Son La, and Hoa Binh./.