Illustrative Image (Source: internet) The sixth industrial promotion conference for southern localities convened in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province on September 25 focused on hastening promotion activities towards the impending ASEAN Economic Community.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Department for Local Industry reported that by the end of September, total finances allocated for industrial promotion of the 63 provinces and cities nationwide exceeded 213 billion VND (9.46 million USD), up 4.25 percent from 2014.
Of the sum, more than 62 billion VND (2.75 million USD) was earmarked for the 20 southern provinces and cities, an annual increase of 5.96 percent. Nineteen of the 20 localities also approved the use of over 43 billion VND (1.91 million USD) from local budgets for their promotion efforts.
The funding was spent on vocational training, improving management capacity, technical demonstrations, transferring scientific-technological advances and developing industrial products in rural areas, the department noted.
A report at the conference highlighted the growing effectiveness of industrial promotion activities in the south, elaborating that the design, verification and implementation of industrial promotion projects have improved and their activities have adhered to national and local industrial promotion programmes, fanning the growth of industrial and handicraft production.
It also admitted to shortcomings in existing industrial promotion activities such as the lack of regional connectivity in some projects, limited number of local collaborators, sluggish project implementation and slow funding disbursement. Some localities have ignored their advantages in sectors and products in their promotion plans.
At the event, southern officials and entrepreneurs asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to open additional training courses for industrial promotion staff and popularise good practices so as to enhance promotion activities.
The ministry should also consider overhauling current related circulars and decrees and the Government should offer aid to industrial promotion activities in rural areas, they suggested.-VNA
