Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cao Duc Phat outlined the basic goals of the programme: build new and more modern rural infrastructure, combine agriculture with the services industry, build more democratic and stable rural communities, preserve cultural identities, and improve the living conditions of rural people.

The programme hopes to bring 20 percent of all communes up to the new rural standards by 2015 and 50 percent of the communes by 2020.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung, head of the programme’s National Steering Board told the conference that to make the programme work, local communities must closely adhere to the programme’s recommendations and use resources effectively.