Vinh Long (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked the MekongDelta province of Vinh Long to make greater efforts to become a leading localityin terms of development in the next decade with its economy and local people’sincome rising fourfold.

PM Phuc delivered the request whileattending a conference held in Vinh Long on March 27 to call for moreinvestments into the province. The conference saw the participation of morethan 800 delegates, including hundreds of domestic and foreign businesspeople.

The government leader urged theprovince to work out a sustainable development model adaptive to climate changeand based on smart agriculture and ecotourism.

To that end, Vinh Long should jointhe key economic region of the Mekong Delta in the next five years, by focusingon improving the quality of education, he said.

It is necessary to combine the province’sclimate change adaptation strategy with its socio-economic development strategyand incorporate economic development with environmental protection and socialwelfare to ensure sustainable development, PM Phuc stressed.

The PM also advised Vinh Long to builda connectivity chain in agriculture to link farmers, the State, investors,banks, scientists and distributors, as well as seeking measures to increase thenumber and scale of enterprises in the province and well connecting domesticand foreign businesses.

The Government leader welcomedthe signing of a plan by Vinh Long, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh and Tien Giang provincesaiming to tighten their connectivity, and suggested Vinh Long study to becomethe region’s agricultural product processing centre.

The province needs to restructureits agriculture and fisheries with the focus on expanding hi-tech applicationto raise the added value, together with improving its policies and mechanisms,and reducing unnecessary administrative procedures to improve the investmentclimate, PM Phuc added.

Chairman of the provincial People’sCommittee Nguyen Van Quang said Vinh Long is giving priority to calling for investmentsin hi-tech agriculture and tourism as it is home to 11 national cultural andhistorical relic sites, and 43 provincial-level ones.

Along with the government’s preferentialpolicies, the provincial People’s Committee has issued its own incentives tofacilitate investors’ operations, Quang said.

At the conference, the local authoritiespresented certificates of investment registration and signed memoranda ofunderstanding on investment to 32 projects with a combined capital of around 24trillion VND (1.05 billion USD).-VNA