>>> PM joins great national unity festival in Hoa Binh
The Government leader made the request at a working session with key leaders of the Northwestern province on November 19, coinciding with the locale’s celebration of 130 years since its establishment and 25 years since its reestablishment.
He expressed delight at the improvements in Hoa Binh residents’ lives while praising the province’s outstanding efforts in building new-style rural areas despite the difficulties it faces as a mountainous province.
Hoa Binh should strongly socialise resources, strive to reduce the burden on the budget and take effective measures to draw more investment, as the province is an attractive destination to a number of Northern enterprises, PM Phuc said.
He requested that the province focus resources on poverty reduction and improve the investment climate, citing the locale’s high poverty rate of 24% and a decline in its Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) ranking.
Hoa Binh also needs to crack down on illegal trade and transportation of drugs and tighten management of the use of public assets and public spending, aiming to avoid wastefulness, the Government leader insisted.
Later the same day, PM Phuc attended the Hoa Binh investment, trade and tourism promotion conference, during which he witnessed the province licensing eighteen projects worth over VND22.9 trillion (US$1.03 billion).
