State President Truong Tan Sang paid a working visit to the northern mountainous province of Tuyen Quang on January 19-20 to examine the progress on “new-style rural area” construction and assess the current local socio-economic status.

The national target programme for building new-style rural areas, initiated by the Government in 2010, lists 19 criteria to foster socio-economic development, political stability, and defence, all aiming to boost progress in the rural regions of Vietnam. The list of criteria includes infrastructure development, production capacity improvements, environmental protection, and cultural value promotion.

Tuyen Quang’s Tan Trao commune together with the Vinh Thanh commune of central Quang Tri province and Hoa An commune of southern Dong Thap province were chosen to become role models for the programme. At present, the three communes have satisfied all 19 criteria.

At a conference reporting the programme’s outcomes in Tan Trao on January 20, President Truong Tan Sang said the initial achievements are encouraging but not sustainable.

He asked authorities and residents of the three communes to work diligently to uphold their accomplishments so that the communes can truly become role models in new-style rural area building. He also told provincial administrations, State agencies, and the business community to continue assisting these localities.

During his stay in Tuyen Quang, the State leader held a meeting with local officials who reported that the province’s economy grew by 14 percent while 2,409 kilometres of rural roads were paved and industrial infrastructure was improved.

They said Tuyen Quang targets an industrial production value of 6.5 trillion VND (309.5 million USD) and will further develop cash-crop production, improve the training quality at the Tan Trao University, and continue building new-style rural areas.

President Truong Tan Sang spoke highly of the accomplishments and urged authorities to devise measures narrowing the income gap between Tuyen Quang residents and those in other localities.

The province must also prepare to make the best use of opportunities brought by Vietnam’s increasing integration into the region and the world, he added./.