The central province of Quang Binh should fully tap its natural advantages to develop agriculture, forestry and fishery industries, Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said in his visit to the province on February 6.

The Party leader told provincial officials that with mountains making up 85 percent of the province’s natural area, a 116-km coastline, and a vast continental shelf and economic exclusive zone, these sectors have great potential to develop along the path of industrialisation and modernisation.

He also suggested that Quang Binh should pay more attention to tourism development, noting that besides the UNESCO-recognised world natural heritage Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park, the province boasts numerous destinations for cultural and spiritual tourism.

The Party General Secretary hailed the province for its good performance in implementing the Party Central Committee’s Resolution on Party building. He required the local authorities to focus their efforts on organising Party Congresses at all levels in preparation for the 12th National Party Congress.

He urged more attention to the Party building work at the grassroots level, particularly in businesses, organisations and poor and ethnic minority regions, stressing that nothing can be done without capable cadres.

At the same time, the Party leader said Quang Binh, which shares over 200km of border lines with Laos, should foster the special friendship between Vietnam and Laos, contributing to safeguarding national independence and sovereignty, maintaining a peaceful and stable environment for national development.

During his tour to Quang Binh province, the Party chief presented gifts to the Vietnamese heroic mother Lai Thi Sen in Dong Hoi city and visited Phu Quy export wooden processing factory.

In 2014, Quang Binh achieved an economic growth target of 7.5 percent and harvested a record food output of 300,000 tonnes. The province has 12 communes recognised as meeting all 19 criteria of new-style rural areas. The tourism sector has gradually become a local economic spearhead, welcoming over 2.7 million visitors, nearly doubling the previous year, and grossing 1.6 trillion VND (76.19 million USD) in revenue. The rate of poor households was reduced by 5.5 percent last year.-VNA