Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc speaks at a working session yesterday with the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai. — VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

GIA LAI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has instructed the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai to continue increasing its forest coverage and protecting its ecosystem and distinctive cultural identity.

He says these are strategic orientations for the locality’s development.

The PM had a working session yesterday with the province that ranks first in the Central Highlands and third in the country in terms of forest coverage and forms part of the Central Highlands Gong Cultural Space, the Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

The area is projected to accomplish all its set targets, with its GDP growth to reach 8 per cent, and GRDP per capita, VNĐ45.36 million (US$1,930) this year.

However it is dealing with declining prices of key farm produce, low human resources quality, and complicated political security and social order.

PM Phúc said the province had built some hi-tech production models and achieved encouraging outcomes in constructing new rural areas, generating jobs, and taking care of people’s health and policy beneficiaries.

However, the poverty rate in the province remains high, especially among ethnic minority. There are some villages where all households are classified as poor, according to the Prime Minister.

The province has yet fully tapped potential and advantages of some sectors, such as agriculture while its 4,900 businesses are operating mainly as small and medium-sized ones.

He instructed ministries and sectors, including the Ministry of Finance, to work with the province to help more than 100 ethnic households living in landslide and flooding-prone areas in Krong Pa District to move to safer places.

“This is an important work that needs to be done quickly to ensure the lives of people living here,” he said.

While approving the province’s goal of balancing its budget, he suggested the locality focus on high-tech farm and forestry processing; tourism service; and developing a selected industry based on its comparative advantage like wind and solar energy or processing industry for its future socio-economic development.

He asked the province to drastically improve its business environment, sharpen its competitiveness, and assist business development.

“Each office, district, and commune needs to work harder, especially in tackling difficulties to make it easier for businesses to promote production and tap the province’s strengths,” he said.

He also asked the locality to continue reforming administrative procedures, and tapping its land resources and position as the centre of the Cambodia-Laos-Việt Nam development triangle.

"Gia Lai needs to draw high-tech projects into agriculture and make the best use of its advantageous tourism features to create jobs for local people," he said.

During a trip to Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc yesterday evening attended the opening ceremony of the Gong Festival.

Addressing the ceremony, the PM asked local authorities and people of the Central Highlands and central region to conserve the cultural space of the gongs as well as other tangible and intangible cultural values of ethnic minority groups.

To realise the vision of turning the Central Highlands into a land of organic agriculture development, ecological diversification and cultural values, he said that the key to the region’s growth is to develop agricultural, forestry and herbal medicine production which focuses on unique identities.
The Central Highlands region must become a symbol of Vietnamese tourism development in the 21^st century, he said.

He urged the Central Highlands localities to step up collaboration in connecting and sharing resources towards inclusive development goals that leave no one behind. — VNS