Hoa Binh (VNA) – The northern mountainous province of Hoa Binhshould bring into play the full potential of its land, people and culture tobecome a tourism locality, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said in a workingsession with local officials on December 11.

Hoa Binh province has huge potential for tourism development as it is known forbeing the cradle of ancient Vietnamese with cultures of the Muong ethnics-Muong Bi, Muong Vang, Muong Thang and Muong Dong.

Ithouses four renowned natural reserves of Ngoc Son-Ngo Luong, Thuong Tien, HangKia-Pa Co, and Pu Canh, and the Da River reservoir which is being developedinto national tourism site, PM Phuc said.

Thelocal authority needs to improve its underdeveloped tourism infrastructure, hesaid, adding that the Government always pays due attention to the developmentand arising issues in the province.

He hailed comprehensive socio-economic development achievements of the provincein the past time, with positive changes in culture, society, security andpolitics.

He advised the province to take advantage of its geographic location of just 30kilometres from the capital city of Hanoi, for its socio-economic growth.

Thelocality needs to promote the development of forestry and wood processingindustry to contribute to the effort to turn Vietnam into a wooden furnitureproduction centre of the world, he said.

The Government leader asked the province to address its shortcomings, includingsmall-scale business, modest foreign investments, and high proportion ofimpoverished households.

Hoa Binh is among the provinces with the lowest rankings of the ProvincialCompetitiveness Index (PCI) as administrative procedures and inspections have causedtroubles to local businesses, he underlined.

As part of the efforts to branch out local forestry and high-tech agriculture,the locality must give top priority to come up with a sustainable planningscheme, promote regional linkages, production and value chain as well asenhance market access ability.

PM Phuc asked the locality to outline rational programmes in response tonatural disasters and entrusted the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) to join handswith relevant organisations to ensure safety for local residents in the contextof extreme weather.

In 2018, Hoa Binh posted a GRDP growth of 8.36 percent, welcomed around 2.5million visitors, including 310,000 foreigners. However, the proportion of poorhouseholds remains high, at 14.9 percent.

The same day, PM Phuc attended the investment promotion conference of Hoa Binhprovince in 2018.-VNA