The southern province of Binh Thuan organised a solemn meeting on April 19 to celebrate 35 years of its liberation.

Representatives from Ho Chi Minh City and Ninh Thuan, Lam Dong, and Tuyen Quang provinces joined more than 7,000 local officials, soldiers and people at the event.

Addressing the ceremony, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Huynh Van Ti affirmed that the victory by Binh Thuan’s soldiers and people 35 years ago markedly contributed to the liberation of the South and national reunification.

Thirty-five years after its liberation, Binh Thuan has recorded rapid and comprehensive economic growth, he said, citing its average GDP growth of 12.84 percent a year and GDP per capita of nearly 1,000 USD in 2009.

Infrastructure for transport, irrigation, industrial parks, tourism and hydro-power has been improved. As a result, the province attracted 2.2 million visitors in 2009 and the living conditions of people in rural and mountainous areas have improved markedly.

On this occasion, the State President presented the title “Hero of the People’s Armed Force” in the US resistance war to four units and posthumously awarded the title to two war martyrs./.