Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung made the statement at a working session on Sept. 2 with key officials in the central province on socio-economic development and a Politburo decision on turning Thua Thien-Hue into a centrally-run city.

He instructed the province to build mechanisms to mobilise resources for urban infrastructure development, especially the transport system, as well as pay attention to developing a new style of rural area, culture, education and training and health services.

The PM also asked provincial officials to focus on easing difficulties in agricultural production, business and production promotion, while maintaining market price stability.
PM Dung hailed efforts of the Party organisation, authorities and people of Thua Thien Hue with encouraging achievements in many areas, including high per capita income and poverty reduction.

The province needed to review its plan to effectively implement the Politburo’s decision on construction and development of Thua Thien-Hue province and Hue urban city by 2020, he said.

Thua Thien-Hue would become one of the country’s hubs of culture, tourism, science and technology, health and education and training.

In the first eight months of this year, the province continued to register economic growth, keeping the economic restructuring programme on track. Its total retail sale and service turnover rose 22.2 percent over the same period last year; exports were up 53.8 percent and industrial production was up 12.45 percent. The number of foreign tourists to the imperial city of Hue increased 6.2 percent in the reviewed period.

This year, the province was expected to register an average per capita income of US$1,300, reduce the poor household rate to 9.16 percent and generate jobs for 16,500 local people, with a trained worker proportion of 44 percent.

*** PM Dung also attended a new school year opening ceremony at the 115-year-old Quoc Hoc Hue for gifted students high school in the imperial city of Hue.

He said the Party and State of Vietnam always cared for the development of education and considered it a top priority in the country’s development strategy, and a decisive element for poverty reduction, industrialisation and sustainable development.
Thanks to the due attention and efforts of teachers, as well as the entire society, the country’s education sector had seen significant development, with improvements in the education system and special attention to education in ethnic inhabited and difficult areas, he said.

However, he pointed out shortcomings and weaknesses in the sector, particularly in areas with difficult socio-economic conditions.

He stressed the special significance of the 2011-2012 academic year, saying that this was the first school year the sector would implement the 11^th Party Congress Resolution and the education development strategy for the 2011-2020 period, with a focus on rapid development of human resources and fundamental and comprehensive modernisation of the national education system.

At the event, he praised the efforts and achievements of the provincial education and training sector, especially the Quoc Hoc Hue school, in recent years.

Established in 1896, Quoc Hoc Hue high school had a proud tradition, with President Ho Chi Minh among many senior officials and scientists of the Party and State who studied and taught there.

Also the same day, Prime Minister Dung offered incense to commemorate martyrs at the Chin Ham historic relic site in Hue city.

Later that day, he inspected the Bach Ho bridge project, spanning the Huong river in the city.