Politburo member and Permanent member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat Le Hong Anh held a working session with leaders of the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on January 20.

Anh affirmed that Can Tho holds an important role in defence, security maintenance and socio-economics and is a key player in the development of both the Mekong Delta and the country.

He asked the city to continue restructuring its economy with more focus on services, high-tech agriculture and industry, ensuring social welfare and maintaining political stability and social safety and order in 2014.

Last year, Can Tho city collected 11 trillion VND (517 million USD) for its budget, exceeding 24.5 percent of the set target.

It strives to reach a trade value of 70.2 trillion VND (almost 3.3 billion USD) in 2014, up 14 percent from 2013.

During the 10-year period, the city has recorded an average annual GDP growth rate of 14.5 percent.

With its GDP per capita increasing sixfold from 10.3 million VND in 2004 to nearly 63 million VND in 2013, many important infrastructure facilities were put into operation, contributing to accelerating socio-economic development in the city and the Mekong Delta region.-VNA