HCM CITY— Provinces and cities should identify key industries to prioritise for investment and development in their socio-economic development strategy for 2021-30, experts told a conference yesterday (October 17).

The previous decade’s strategy ends next year, and a replacement would be needed, and the Government and administrations of provinces and cities need to start developing it, they said.

Provinces and cities need to synchronise their strategies with the national strategy to ensure easy implementation, they said.

Assoc Prof Dr Bùi Quang Tuấn, director general of the Việt Nam Institute of Economics, told Việt Nam News that the provinces and cities should ensure they have enough funds and human resources to ensure implementation.

Nguyễn Trúc Sơn, vice chairman of the People’s Committee of Bến Tre Province in the Mekong Delta, said: “My province is unable to define and analyse longer term versions and plans because of a shortage of information and human resources.”

It has only made short-term plans in the past, he said.

“The Government should provide a detailed guidance framework for provinces and cities to know what they have to carry out.”

He also suggested that the Government should form a national co-ordination chain based on which provinces and cities in a region could develop an efficient co-operative strategy.

Under this strategy, each province and city should develop its own key industries based on their strengths and not compete with each other, he added.

Tuấn concurred with Sơn saying HCM City, for instance, could focus on developing innovative technologies while its neighbouring provinces and cities focus elsewhere.

The benefits arising from the co-operation should be shared, he added.

Phạm Thiện Nghĩa, vice chairman of the Đồng Tháp Province People’s Committee in, said his province faces the same problem as neighbouring Bến Tre.

The Government should forecast development trends and identify the areas on which to focus for development, he said.

Creating a national data base to inform provinces and cities about where to focus their development efforts is of vital importance, he added. VNS