The province should promote and maximise the benefits from its location in the Kunming-Ha Noi economic corridor, said PM Dung. He also asked the province to disburse funds for building schools and resettlement for the Ha Noi-Lao Cai Expressway.

Praise was given for raising the annual GDP of the province to 11.79 per cent,while shifting the main economic focus from agri-forestry to industry and services.

Over the past three years, Yen Bai has spent VND650 billion (US$36.5 million) on improving infrastructure, irrigation, forest planting and farming in highland areas. Every commune in the province is now accessible by road.

Yet, Dung said the province still lacked competitiveness and that its development was not sustainable. Yen Bai’s per capita income puts it 60th out of 63 provinces and cities nationwide.

To help the province become stronger, he instructed the finance, industry and trade and transport ministries to help the province develop urban areas and improve the lives of local people. Also yesterday, Dung visited Tay Bac Boarding School in Yen Bai, Yen Binh Vinaconex Cement Plant and Yen Bai Police.

National protection

As part of his working trip, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung yesterday called on officers and soldiers from Military Zone 2 to do their best to defend the nation.

Dung met with the zone’s high command and spoke highly of the achievements made by the military forces. He said that safeguarding independence and sovereignty of Viet Nam while maintaining social order was vital to the country’s socio-economic development. Dung said he hoped Military Zone 2 would concentrate on boosting the quality of its ideological work, in line with the "study and work following Ho Chi Minh’s morals" principle.

Besides safeguarding the fatherland, the forces should take part in socio-economic development and anti-poverty programmes, particularly in remote, mountainous and border areas, Dung said.

The military was also a key force in providing aid to victims of natural disasters in the northwest, Dung said. He also called on the military to work with the police to prevent any attempt by hostile forces to destabilise the State.

Strong region

Dung also praised the work of the steering committee for the northwestern region and hailed its work with ministries, sectors and the authorities in 11 northern mountainous provinces to boost the socio-economic development of the region over the past five years.

The region has reached socio-economic targets set by the Politburo. The average annual growth rate was 11.7 per cent in recent years, while the annual income per capita was nearly VND8 million ($452) last year – three times higher than in 2000.

The Prime Minister, however, said the region remained impoverished and that the implementation of infrastructure projects was too sluggish. He said he expected the region would attain its anti-poverty targets in the next two or three years and implement approved projects.

The region should focus on developing infrastructure, particularly rural transport, while ensuring social security, especially in 43 poor districts, he said.