Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong highlighted potential untapped by the northern mountainous province of Cao Bang during his working session with local authorities on April 23.

Cao Bang should review its strengths beyond agriculture and forestry. With a 330 kilometre borderline with China, the province is well-positioned to develop cross-border trade, he said.

He also cited special national relic sites like Pac Bo, Tran Hung Dao forest and Phat Tich Truc Lam Ban Gioc pagoda as a promising source of tourism revenue, which has soared over 230 percent from 2010.

He suggested that infrastructure should be one of the three strategic methods to bring about economic prosperity, hand in hand with reducing poverty and expanding successful business models.

To that end, it is imperative to fine-tune policies, utilise resources for development and gather a pool of officials qualified for the new global context, he said.

The Party chief underscored that economic development is a central task, Party building is crucial and national defence-security is a regular and significant mission, pointing to the fact that personnel work is vital and leaders should be exemplary, upright, capable and able to unite officials and Party members.

He asked the locality to boost regional connectivity and make thorough personnel preparations for all-level Party Congresses.

Looking back on the past five years, Cao Bang has recorded an annual economic growth of 9.2 percent with an average income per capita of 878 USD.

The total yearly food output averaged 250,000 tonnes while agriculture yielded 35 million VND (1,670 USD) per hectare. The poverty rate has reduced by over 4 percent annually to the current 20 percent.

In the morning on the same day, the leader offered incense and planted trees at a memorial dedicated to the late President Ho Chi Minh inside Pac Bo relic site in Truong Ha commune, Ha Quang district.

During a working session with communal senior officials, he asked for increased attention to building the Party and a strong and healthy political system while continuing a campaign on studying and following the moral example of late President Ho Chi Minh.

On the occasion, he also visited and presented gifts to war hero relatives in the district.-VNA