HẢI PHÒNG — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc stressed that not only the central government but also grassroots administrations must take action to build a transparent and facilitating Government while meeting with voters in the northern port city of Hải Phòng yesterday. 

“The construction of a transparent and facilitating Government must be carried out with actions, not just through words”, he said. 

The PM also spoke about Government measures to address a number of socio-economic issues of great public concern. 

Answering a question on the settlement of 12 prolonged loss-making projects, Phúc reiterated the Government’s viewpoint of quickly recovering the lost property. Investigative bodies had launched criminal proceedings against and detained some stakeholders who will be strictly punished according to law, he added. 

Regarding numerous violations of the order to close natural forests in the Central Highlands, the PM stressed that the responsibility of local authorities would be clarified in implementing the Government leader’s directions while resolutely preventing violations from re-occurring. 

Regarding the fight against corruption, Phúc said positive changes had been recorded in the detection and handling of corruption cases, adding that many corruption cases would be seriously addressed in the coming time. 

On the East Sea issue, the PM stated that "Việt Nam pursues the policy of building peace, friendship, and freedom of aviation and navigation in the sea, on the basis of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), while fully implementing the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and working towards a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC)". 

“Việt Nam protects her legitimate interests via implementing international law on the East Sea issue”, he affirmed. 

At the meeting, the PM also explained policies for persons who made contributions to the nation and the revolution, the implementation of policies on high tech agriculture development and education reform. 

He also briefed attendees on the outcomes of the third session of the 14th National Assembly and his recent official visits to the US and Japan.

Haỉ Phòng asked to boost private sector

Hải Phòng should make greater efforts to turn the private sector into a driver of its economic development, said PM Phúc at a working session with the municipal Party Committee’s Standing Board later the same day.

He said that despite strong performance in the first half of 2017, Hải Phòng had yet to meet requirements as a major industrial hub of the country and the driving force of development in the northern coastal region.
The government leader asked the province to mull development plans as the third largest city of the country and develop itself into a green, modern port city, and a big centre of services and industries.
To contribute to the country’s economic growth goal of 6.7 per cent this year, Hải Phòng must strive to achieve a 14 per cent GDP growth rate in 2017, he said.
The PM suggested Hải Phòng work with domestic and foreign agencies in development planning to make it a leading seaport centre.
At the same time Hải Phòng should improve its investment environment, enhance competitiveness through speeding up administrative reform and complete its tourism infrastructure, he said.
Statistics released at the working session showed that in the first half of 2017, Hải Phòng saw the highest gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth in the past 10 years.
Total volume of goods handed by Hải Phòng port reached 43 million tonnes, up almost 13.8 per cent, while total social investment was VNĐ23.9 trillion, an increase of 22.56 per cent. The city’s budget collection topped VNĐ35 trillion, a rise of 10.7 per cent.
Hải Phòng remained one of the 10 most attractive investment destinations with 24 foreign-invested projects licensed in the first six months of this year, while 20 existing projects were permitted to increase investment, with combined capital of US$617 million.
The city also disbursed some VNĐ3.7 trillion as public investment, 40.8 per cent of the annual plan. The number of newly-established firms in the first six months of 2017 was 1,598, 23.7 per cent higher than the same period last year, with combined capital of more than VNĐ7.4 trillion. — VNS