State President Truong Tan Sang toured Ha Giang and Tuyen Quang provinces on January 12 and 13 as part of his trip to inspect the northern border areas.

In Ha Giang, he and his entourage paid pre-Tet visits to ethnic minority people and soldiers and officers stationed in the districts of Meo Vac, Vi Xuyen and Dong Van, which lie at the northernmost point of the country’s border with China.

In Meo Vac, which borders China for 42 kilometres, President Sang noted down local residents’ suggestions on building more roads and connecting to the national power grid to accelerate plantation development, animal breeding and tourism.

He asked the local authorities to pay due attention to expanding educational and healthcare services for the local population, of which 70 percent are H’Mong ethnic minorities, as well as building a grassroots political system.

In Dong Van, the President spent time with soldiers and officers at the Dong Van border guard post, which is in charge of managing and protecting a border section of 6 km.

He inquired into the operation of the Thanh Thuy border gate, where import and export activities between Vietnamese and Chinese traders are busy, and a model on new-style rural area building in Viet Lam commune, Vi Xuyen district.

In the neighbouring province of Tuyen Quang, President Sang examined the construction tempo of a monument featuring late President Ho Chi Minh with ethnic minority people in Tuyen Quang.

The monument is expected to be inaugurated on the late President’s birthday (May 19) in 2015.

During his working session with Tuyen Quang’s authorities, the President heard that the locality achieved a growth rate of 13.5 percent, higher than the national average, and put important facilities into operation, like the Tuyen Quang sugar factory and the Chiem Hoa hydroelectric power plant.

President Sang asked local officials to tap the province’s strong forest resources in a responsible manner to help improve socio-economic life for local residents.

While in Tuyen Quang, he visited the An Hoa paper factory, which currently employs 1,000 local people.

Earlier, President Sang toured Cao Bang and Lang Son provinces.-VNA