Party General Secretary Tô Lâm pays a working visit to Hà Giang Province on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ GIANG — Hà Giang Province has achieved comprehensive progress in socio-economic development, ensuring national defence and security, while improving the living standards of ethnic communities in remote and mountainous areas, in spite of numerous challenges.

Party General Secretary Tô Lâm expressed the appreciation during his working visit to the province on Thursday to assess the implementation of the Resolutions of the 13th National Party Congress and the 17th Hà Giang Province Party Congress (2020-2025 term) and to determine key tasks for 2025.

Hà Giang, home to nearly 20 ethnic groups, is a mountainous border province with special strategic significance in terms of national defence, security and foreign affairs.

Hầu A Lềnh, secretary of the Hà Giang Province Party Committee, outlined the province’s achievements in implementing the Resolutions of the 13th National Party Congress and the 17th provincial Party Congress, while setting key tasks for 2025. He emphasised the committee’s determination and unity in effectively executing directives from the central Government through structured programmes and action plans.

The draft Political Report for the 18th provincial Party Congress (2025-2030) has been completed and is under review. Economically, Hà Giang’s GRDP grew at an average rate of 5.32 per cent between 2020 and 2024, reaching 6.05 per cent in 2024. The economy expanded by 1.4 times compared to 2020, and per capita GRDP increased by VNĐ9.5 million (US$396).

Infrastructure improvements in terms of transport, electricity, and telecommunications have helped enhance living standards, while administrative efficiency now ranks 12th nationwide. Poverty alleviation efforts have reduced the multidimensional poverty rate by 6.26 per cent in 2024, with plans to eliminate over 19,500 substandard homes by 2026.

Education restructuring has optimised resources, and healthcare services now provide 10.17 doctors and 45.7 hospital beds per 10,000 residents, with health insurance coverage at 97.25 per cent. Tourism and cultural preservation initiatives are driving economic benefits, while national defence and border security remain priorities.

At the meeting, General Secretary Tô Lâm said that Hà Giang Province always proactively and quickly deploys central policies and resolutions to continue extensive implementation from the provincial to the grassroot levels.

He highly appreciated its comprehensive socio-economic progress in spite of numerous challenges.

He pointed out potentials in local development which include the exploitation of unique and valuable natural resources and the development of a number of agricultural products.

“Hà Giang has special microclimates and soils that can develop highland crops and livestock that are unique and distinctive, and highland agricultural specialties,” said Lâm.

“The temperate high mountain climate, cool all year round, brings the advantage of developing many precious medicinal herbs that can be developed on an industrial scale in many sub-regions,” he said.

The province's primary forest ecosystem is rich and diverse, with many valuable natural medicinal resources. Combining the sustainable exploitation of forest resources with biodiversity conservation offers opportunities to develop the province's green medicinal industry. The province also boasts abundant and distinctive tourism resources.

Hà Giang is located adjacent to a potential market with the world's second-largest economy, representing a significant market advantage. The province has a young, large and hardworking workforce, he added.

Regarding key tasks and solutions in the near future, the General Secretary emphasised that the province must continue its efforts to build and strengthen a clean, robust and comprehensive Party and political system.

To accelerate socio-economic development, maximise potentials and mobilise all resources for comprehensive growth, he highlighted the province's significant potentials in three core areas of tourism, border trade and high-quality agriculture and forestry, including medicinal herbs.

It is necesary to promote commodity production aligned with market mechanisms, replacing the outdated mindset of self-sufficient, fragmented and small-scale economic practices.

“Strengthening production linkages and partnerships across agriculture, trade and services is essential to address limitations in fragmentation and division,” he said.

He called for sustainable and multifunctional agricultural development, focusing on smart, organic, safe and specialty agriculture connected to sustainable tourism development.

Hà Giang should invest in transport infrastructure, border gate infrastructure, logistics services and smart healthcare and education infrastructure, as well as develop the digital economy and e-commerce.

The province has to further strengthen national security and social stability in border regions, issuing policies to incentivise long-term settlement in frontier areas.

He called for equitable development among ethnic groups, sustainable poverty alleviation and targeted programmes to address socio-economic disparities. — VNS