Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính speaks at a working session with authorities of Hậu Giang Province on Sunday. — VNA/VNS Photo Dương Giang

HẬU GIANG — Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has called for the untapped potential in the Mekong Delta province of Hậu Giang to be realised to create rapid and sustainable socio-economic development for the whole region.

He made the call while at a working session with provincial authorities that looked at the result of the first six months of the year and orientation for the province's key missions in the remaining months.

The Government leader said Hậu Giang has an important position, located near the centre of the Mekong Delta region with a network of interlacing rivers and primeval forests. It is a centre of rice, seafood and fruit production in the region.

It is also a land with a long history of culture and history that has resources for the development of eco-tourism, craft villages and festivals, PM Chính said.

The province should tap its potential and promote internal strengths to boost socio-economic development and better locals' lives, the PM said.

He asked the provincial authorities to take measures to successfully fulfil tasks assigned for 2022 and the province's socio-economic development plan during the 2021-25 period, focusing on economic restructure and drawing investment in industrial production, energy, food industry, logistics and tourism.

Attention should also be paid to preserving and developing culture and protecting the environment and natural resources in the spirit of not sacrificing the environment for economic development.

He urged the province to closely follow Government resolutions and action plans about socio-economic development, ensuring national defence and security for the Mekong Delta region and adaptation to climate changes.

The province needs to continue implementing COVID-19 prevention and control measures, speeding up vaccination, creating conditions for socio-economic recovery, and ensuring enough human resources, medical equipment and materials to better healthcare services for local people.

The Government leader also instructed Hậu Giang to promote planning to create new spaces for development and continue to build and implement policies to attract and effectively use resources for development investment, increase public-private partnership and promote public investment disbursement.

The province was directed to focus resources on infrastructure development, including the construction of the 100km expressway crossing the province and the development of water transport.

PM Chính asked the province to take measures to boost agricultural restructure, promote the implementation of the "One Commune, One Product" programme, develop a collective economy, ensure social security, speed up administrative reforms to create a favourable environment for business activities, and tackle difficulties in production and trade for businesses and local people.

Speaking at the meeting, Hậu Giang Party Committee's Secretary Nghiêm Xuân Thành reported that in the first six months of 2022, the province recorded a growth rate of 11 per cent, topping the Mekong Delta region and ranking eighth in the country. The industrial sector registered a breakthrough growth rate of 30.8 per cent. The agricultural sector posted a growth of 4.49 per cent, the highest over the past 10 years. — VNS