Dien Bien asked to optimise agro-forest advantages

Hanoi (VNA) – Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has asked the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien to continue tapping its agricultural and forest advantages to boost socio-economic development at his meeting with provincial leaders on July 16.

Dien Bien is home to 550,000 people from 19 ethnic groups. It borders Laos and China with a total length of over 400 km.

The province’s average economic growth rate exceeds 9 percent a year, with per capita income reaching 23.6 million VND (1,038 USD) in 2015.

However, the province remains one of the poorest localities, with the poverty rate of 28 percent.

The Party leader urged the locality to speed up economic restructuring, infrastructure construction and administrative reform, and attract more investment, suggesting it encourage the involvement of locals in these works.

The province was requested to pay more attention to improving the intellectual standards of locals, and boost education and vocational training.

Located in a strategic defence position of the northwestern region, Dien Bien needs to intensify defence security, maintain social order and safety, and better external, ethnic and religious affairs, he stated, adding that it is necessary to prevent local ethnics from being incited by incorrect propaganda allegations.

He also reminded the province to intensify Party building work and the building of a transparent and strong political system.

The Party chief then visited the border post of the Tay Trang international border gate in Na U commune of Dien Bien district, which is tasked to manage the 24km borderline with Laos.

He required the border guard force to help maintain security order along the borderline, and fulfil the tasks assigned by the Party, State and people, for peace, independence and sovereignty of the nation, and for happiness of the people.

He paid a visit to Pom Lot commune in the district, and presented gifts to several war invalids in the commune.

He also visited the Dien Bien Phu Victory Museum and planted a tree there.

Earlier on July 15, the Party leader inspected the implementation of the Lai Chau hydropower plant project in Lai Chau province.

With a total investment of 35 trillion VND (1.54 billion USD), the plant is the nation’s important facility having the main purpose of providing electricity for the national grid.-VNA