The southern provice of Tay Ninh needs Ho Chi Minh City to boost consumption of farm produce from Tay Ninh, help establish areas for cultivation of clean and safe vegetables, further develop dairy farming and introduce hi-tech industries, officials have said.

They also called for greater cooperation in tourism development and developing a skilled human resource base for the health sector.

The province also needs more help in dealing with its environmental problems, the officials said at a conference on March 1 that reviewed socio-economic cooperation between the two localities in the 2007 – 2013 period and set tasks and orientations for the next seven years.

The conference heard that businesses based in HCM City have invested more than 17 trillion VND (over 805 million USD) in the southern border province.

A report submitted at the conference that reviewed socio-economic cooperation between the two localities for the 2007 – 2013 period said the money has been invested in over 100 investment projects. Of these, 49 projects with a total investment of 7.86 trillion VND (373 million USD) are operational and 19 others worth 4.17 trillion VND (197.5 million USD) are under construction.

City businesses are also preparing to carry out 30 other projects with a registered capital of nearly 4.2 trillion VND.

The municipal administration is helping Tay Ninh with a number of transportation projects including 5 billion VND for building a road running around the Southern Revolution Historical Monument complex that costs a total of 33.5 billion VND, and 9 billion VND support for an eighteen-billion-VND project to expand the provincial Road No 12.

HCM City has also provided 11 billion VND for upgrading the road leading to the complex and 26.5 billion VND for upgrading the 4.4 km Loc Phuoc – Song Lo Road.

The Sai Gon Transport Engineering Corporation has provided 23 buses worth 29 billion VND to improve travel and transport services in the province.

The two localities have also cooperated in areas including health, education, radio and television, culture, sports and tourism, industrial and business development, science and technology, agriculture and rural development, mineral resources and environment, and banking.

Looking ahead, Le Hoang Quan, Chairman of HCM City People's Committee, asked officials of both localities to strengthen cooperation towards optimum exploitation of the potentials and advantages of each locality. These included science and technology transfers and the development of hi-tech agriculture, he said.-VNA