Making Vinh Long Relatively Developed Province in Vietnam

Vinh Long needs a shift in its growth paradigm. By revitalizing conventional growth catalysts - namely consumption, investment, and export - it can lay the groundwork for a dynamic trajectory. However, the true impetus lies in embracing novel drivers: the green transformation, digital metamorphosis, circular economy, sharing economy, and climate responsiveness. These emergent trends are inexorable in today’s global landscape.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh recently attended a conference on announcement of the Provincial Planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050 and on Vinh Long agricultural, trade and tourism investment promotion, held in Vinh Long City.

At the conference, Vinh Long province announced the Provincial Planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050 approved by the Prime Minister in Decision 1759/QD-TTg dated December 31, 2023; provided basic information about local potential, advantages, and development orientations; invited and attracted large investment resources, modern and advanced technologies from domestic and foreign investors.

In the presence of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, leaders of Vinh Long province handed over investment certificates, memorandums of understanding, and cooperation agreements to businesses and investors which pledged to invest more than VND19,600 billion.

Speaking at the conference, the Prime Minister emphasized the need to maximize potential differences, outstanding opportunities and competitive advantages to develop Vinh Long in an inclusive, civilized, modern, ecological, and sustainable manner, with a good level of development as compared to the whole country, and make the people more prosperous and happier.

The Prime Minister stated that, with a very important role, planning has been made synchronously, methodically and scientifically from central to local levels with innovative thinking and strategic vision and with the view that planning must be one step ahead, realistic, feasible, capable of identifying and promoting distinct potentialities, outstanding opportunities, competitive advantages of each region and locality, find and resolve difficulties, challenges, conflicts and shortcomings; choose a suitable, right model to mobilize all resources for rapid and sustainable development.

"Up to now, we have basically completed formulating, appraising and approving planning (109/111 plannings). In principle, planning must be carefully devised but not be a perfectionist, hasty choice. Planning must be implemented well, stabilized and not changed frequently. It must closely follow rapidly changing situations as well as new trends to adapt and supplement it when necessary because resources come from thinking, motivation comes from innovation and strength comes from the people," he emphasized.

The Prime Minister stated that the Vinh Long Provincial Planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, was made meticulously, methodically and scientifically and aimed to unlock local potential advantages and address existing shortcomings and limitations.

The planning highlights viewpoints, visions and goals of key development and breakthrough development; development plans, solutions, resources to carry out the planning and tasks to be executed in the coming time.

Looking forward to the future, the Prime Minister said that Vietnam defines digital transformation and green growth as core elements of economic restructuring and growth repatterning towards increased productivity, quality, efficiency, competitiveness and rapid, sustainable development. This is an inevitable trend, the goal of every country and a new growth engine; and no country can stand outside this process.

He requested the province to urgently launch action plans for carrying out the Provincial Planning; ensure compliance and uniformity in planning implementation; match with national master planning, regional planning, and sector planning; align with the long-term vision to unlock local potential advantages, strong socioeconomic development, environmental protection and adaptation to climate change.

He emphasized that the province necessarily continues to uphold the spirit of solidarity, unity and self-reliance to move forward from the hard work and intelligence of local people and natural resources rather than just idly wait for providence. Vinh Long needs to focus on key resources to deal with and finish key activities; focus on emerging industries (green transformation, digital transformation, circular economy, sharing economy and knowledge economy), use science, technology and innovation as the main driving forces and concentrate on training high-quality human resources.

The Prime Minister underlined the need for changing the growth model, refreshing traditional growth drivers (consumption, investment and export), focus on new drivers, especially green transformation, green economy, digital transformation, circular economy, sharing economy and climate response which are new, inevitable trends in the world today

In the development process, Vinh Long needs to attach importance to the human factor as the nucleus, the subject, the goal, and the driving force of development; never sacrifices progress, justice, social security and the environment to pursue simple economic growth.

Requiring comprehensive development of industry, agriculture and services, Prime Minister Chinh underscored some key areas in Vinh Long such as shifting from agricultural production to agricultural economic development; industrializing agriculture with agricultural production materials centers, including tool producers, and enhancing deep processing of agricultural products; developing cultural industry, including the branding and development of Vinh Long ceramic industry; focusing on investment on synchronous and modern infrastructure development, reducing logistics costs; and developing night economy and e-commerce.

Regarding resources, the Prime Minister asked the province to reform development thinking, maximize internal resources, and promote historical and cultural traditions; boost public-private partnership, use public investment to lead private investment, open up and effectively use all development resources; and build enabling policy mechanisms, reform administrative procedures, and improve the investment and business environment.

In the spirit of “working together, winning together, enjoying together and developing together”, he hoped that investors will choose investment fields that suit the province's unique potential, outstanding opportunities and competitive advantages; build a long-term, sustainable business strategy, and properly implement investment commitments and cooperation agreements.

They need to lead innovations, green transformation, digital transformation and technology transfer, focus on human resource training, help build and perfect institutions; do business and make investment by law; implement business culture and social responsibility, ensure regimes and policies for employees, and actively contribute to ensuring social security.

The Prime Minister requested relevant central agencies to effectively implement Party policies, State laws, and directions of the Government and the Prime Minister; and create a favorable business and investment environment where people and businesses are at the nucleus, the subject, the goal and the driving force of development.

They promptly and effectively resolve recommendations and proposals of the province, people and businesses; quickly complete relevant legal regulations and policy mechanisms; coordinate closely with Vinh Long to assess the current situation, have solutions to improve the investment environment, and create favorable conditions to reduce costs for businesses and investors.

Prime Minister Chinh requested the business community, investors, ministries and branches to do whatever it is said, do whatever it is committed, and achieve substantive and measurable outcomes.

“From the provincial leadership to the entire political system and to every citizen, the ideology must be clear, the determination must be high, the effort must be great, the action must be drastic, and do whatever it takes to finish it; with the revolutionary tradition, with the development momentum over the past years, with the support of ministries, central branches, and investors; I believe that Vinh Long will implement the planning well and will quickly become a well-developed province of the country, contribute to the development of the Mekong Delta and build an increasingly strong and prosperous country, with its people being more prosperous and happier,” Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said.

Source: Vietnam Business Forum