Party chief asks Lai Chau to maintain growth rate

The General Secretary was speaking at a working session between the Party Central Committee's Secretariat and the Standing Committee of Lai Chau provincial Party Committee in Hanoi on August 27. 

Lai Chau has a key political and military position, and advantages in agro-forestry, mining and eco-tourism development, according to the Party chief. 

As the province has a long borderline, which is favourable for economic development, it should promote its border economy and make full use of the Chinese market and develop cooperation between the two border areas, the Party leader said. 

As it is the country’s poorest province with per capita income of just 36% of the national average, Lai Chau should strengthen investment in construction and development, he emphasised. 

The Party leader also asked the province to focus on improving people’s intellectual standards, the quality of human resources, personnel training, and the development of young staff, especially female and ethnic minority workers. 

The province should also pay attention to Party building, successfully perform mass mobilisation and continue to implement the Party Central Committee’s Resolution on Party building and the Politburo’s Directive on learning and following President Ho Chi Minh’s moral example. 

It was reported at the working session that over the last two years Lai Chau has maintained an average annual GDP growth rate of 13.8%. Food production has been increased, helping ensure food security in the province. 

The annual poverty rate falls by 7.5% while 65.3% of households have access to the national power grid and 69% of rural people have been provided with clean water. 

The Party's Secretariat agreed upon the tasks and measures set forth by the province to help it escape from under development by 2015 and become a middle development province in the region by 2020.