PM asks Lai Chau to promote fast, green, sustainable growth

Chinh hailed the achievements Lai Chau has gained so far, highlighting the locality's great potential, especially in hydropower development and tourism, and strategic position in national defence and security.

However, he pointed out that the province's growth has yet to match its potential, underlining that Lai Chau's economic scale has remained modest, its infrastructure system poor, and the people's living conditions in some localities difficult.

The Government leader asked Lai Chau to promote its growth towards a fast, green, and sustainable direction, improve locals’ living conditions, focus on speeding up poverty reduction, preserve and promote the cultural values of local ethnic minority groups, protecte the environment, and ensure defence-security.

Along with effectively implementing its development strategies and plans and the resolution of the provincial Party Congress, Lai Chau should concentrate on implementing three strategic breakthroughs of institution, infrastructure and human resources development, while enhancing investment attraction, he said.

The leader urged Lai Chau to build and promote its economic motivation regions, prioritising agricultural development, tourism, manufacturing-processing industry, border economy following the digital, green and circular economic model.

Alongside, it should speed up administrative reform, investment and business environment improvement, he added, stressing the need for Lai Chau to maintain and promote traditional and typical cultural values of local ethnic minority groups, and protect the environment and forest.

Particularly, PM Chinh requested Lai Chau to focus on building a borderline of peace, cooperation and development, ensuring the effective implementation of policies on ethnic minority and religion.

According to the provincial Party Committee, in the 2021-2023 period, Lai Chau posted average annual gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth of 3.91%, and a per capita income of 47.2 million VND (1,945 USD). Its economic structure has been transformed strongly, with contributions from industry-construction reaching 38.03% and that from services hitting 40.14%. The province's infrastructure system has been greatly upgraded, while social welfare policies have been implemented in a full and timely manner.

The poverty rate in the 2021-2023 period has decreased by an average of 3.4% per year, while the rate of poor districts fell by an average of 4.7%, exceeding the target set by the provincial Party Congress.

At the working session, Lai Chau leaders gave a number of proposals related to mining, aquatic farming, forest development, and transport.

The same day, PM Chinh laid flowers at the statue featuring President Ho Chi Minh with people from ethnic groups in Lai Chau in Lai Chau city.

Earlier on November 18, PM Chinh visited teachers and students at Pa Tan elementary school for ethnic minority students in Sin Ho district, and officials and soldiers at Hoi Luong border station in Phong Tho. He also toured the Ma Lu Thang international border gate.