Khanh Hoa (VNA) - Politburo member and National Assembly (NA)Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan on October 13 asked Khanh Hoa province to striveto become a driving force for growth in the south-central and Central Highlandsregions.

Addressing the 18th congress of theprovincial Party organisation for the 2020-2025 tenure, Ngan recalled that, in2012, the Politburo issued Conclusion No 53 on building and developing KhanhHoa province to 2020 with a vision to 2030, which directed the province towardsbecoming an economic, tourism, science and technology, and human resourcestraining centre for the sea-based and tourism economies.

To that end, the locality now needs to speed upprovincial planning in accordance with regional- and national-level planning,she said, stressing the importance of its role and position in boostingconnectivity in the south-central and Central Highlands regions and theEast-West Economic Corridor, while at the same time focusing on developingindustry, high-quality tourism, and the sea-based economy.

The Politburo member also requested Khanh Hoapromptly take measures to improve its business and investment environment andincrease the quality of its infrastructure, services, and human resources towelcome new FDI flows, and to prioritise projects that use high, new, andenvironmentally-friendly technologies.

It is necessary to bring into full playinvestment incentives in the revised Investment Law to attract more major projects,and to take advantage of the opportunities brought about by bilateral andmultilateral agreements, especially new-generation free trade agreements suchas the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership(CPTPP) and the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), so as to effectivelyparticipate in global value chains.

The leader also highlighted the importance ofprioritising investment in developing education, training, health, andsocio-culture, stepping up the application of science and technology and fully implementingsocial welfare policies.

To increase the quality of the healthcaresector, the province should intensify links with major hospitals in Hanoi and HCMCity to bolster check-up and treatment quality, and focus on developing medicaltourism, Ngan suggested.

Khanh Hoa holds an extremely importantstrategic location in defence and security, as it is a gateway to the CentralHighlands and home to Cam Ranh Military Port and Truong Sa (Spratly) islanddistrict, Ngan noted, meaning the province must mainstream socio-economicdevelopment with consolidating defence and security and building an all-peopledefence posture.

It must take the initiative in maintainingpolitical-security stability and social order and safety, and safeguardingnational sovereignty and territorial integrity over Vietnamese sea and islands,she emphasised.

The leader also stressed the need to electcompetent members to the Executive Board of the provincial Party organisationin the 2020-2025 tenure.

The 18th Congress of the provincialParty organisation will close on October 14./.