Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng visits the Mekong Delta province of Long An yesterday. — VNA./VNS Photo Trui Dung

LONG AN (VNS) —  Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng visited the Mekong Delta province of Long An yesterday to inspect its performance in socio-economic development, security-defence and Party building.

At a working session with provincial officials, the Party chief highlighted Long An’s location in the southern key economic region between the southeast region and the Mekong Delta, which is favourable for development.

The province has made breakthroughs in development, as seen with an annual economic growth rate of over 11 percent – the fastest in the Mekong Delta – along with an annual per capita income of VNĐ50.4 million (over $2,260), ranking third in the region. The rate of household poverty has dropped to 2.5 percent. While maintaining the rice farming area to guarantee food security, Long An switched to cultivating profitable trees like dragon fruit and lime.

There has also been an increase in processing, mechanics and electronics industries, along with a decrease in labour-intensive and polluting industries.

Long An ranked seventh among the 63 provinces and cities in Vietnam and second in the Mekong Delta in the provincial competitiveness index. It houses more than 6,700 Vietnamese businesses, 395 operational FDI projects, 28 industrial parks and 32 industrial clusters. It also upgraded and built a number of arterial traffic routes linking highways, national roads and waterways, and facilitating the transportation of goods.

Trọng pointed out growing challenges and a lack of sustainability in local economic growth. The province must maintain a good grasp on reality.

He took the ongoing drought and saltwater intrusion as an example. It is the worst in a century and has damaged over 8,600ha of rice. Tens of thousands of hectares in Long An are predicted to be affected by the phenomenon.

If precise forecasts were made, efficient responses could be taken to minimise impacts on agriculture and people’s lives, he stressed. The leader told local authorities to internalise the resolution of the provincial Party organisation’s congress, together with the resolution from the recent 12th National Party Congress.

The province should also continue to maintain a pure, strong political system, while thoroughly preparing for the approaching election of deputies to the National Assembly and all-level People’s Councils, he added.

Visiting Đức Hòa Đông, which was originally a remote commune with one third of its area deserted, the leader rejoiced at local industrialisation which, he said, was a step in the right direction that has improved local infrastructure and people’s living standards. During his stay in Long An, Trọng visited Nguyen Thi Ba, who holds the titles of Vietnamese Heroic Mother and the Hero of the People’s Armed Forces. She is 100 years old this year and has been a Party member for eight decades.

Top legislator talks with Ha Tinh voters

National Assembly Chairman Nguyễn Sinh Hùng met with constituents in the central province of Hà Tĩnh to inform them about the 11th session of the 13th legislature.

The event would kick off on March 21 with focus on reviewing the performance of State-run agencies and five years of socio-economic development to improve policies for national development in the next five years, he said.

The NA would make important adjustments to leadership positions at State-run agencies, which would be further improved after the 14th NA election. Laws and ordinances regarding the implementation of the Constitution would improve national development.

A number of important bills were expected to be considered and adopted during the 11th session, he added. The top legislator emphasised key tasks of 2016, including the election of deputies to the 14th National Assembly and People’s Councils at all levels in the 2016-2021 tenure.

He asked all sectors, departments and localities to follow directions from the National Election Council and the Government to ensure a successful election.

Hà Tĩnh authorities were requested to actualise major orientations set by the provincial Party Organisation. The NA leader also told the province to push ahead with new-style rural building, stressing that in the next decade, Hà Tĩnh needs to improve its transport infrastructure and irrigation systems, and be prepared to cope with climate change.

He called on the locality to ensure up to 70 percent of workers at industrial and economic zones are locals. — VNS