1,000 people join organ transplant event

More than 1,000 people joined the festival “Joining hands for life” which was held in HCM City yesterday.

It is an annual festival held by the National Co-ordinating Centre for Organ Transplant under the Ministry of Health to respect people donating organs, and to call for the community to join the organ donation.

During the festival, doctors, families of people receiving organs, people registering to donate organs after they die and patients needing organ transplant, shared their thoughts on the work.

Speaking at the festival, Minister of Health Nguyễn Thị Kim Tiến said that thousands of people in Việt Nam needed organ transplant, and the demand increased more and more.

She called for individuals and organisations across the country to register for organ donation after being die to support patients waiting for the “present of life”.

One week before the festival, more than 400 people registered to donate their organs after they die, according to the organisations.

By June 15 this year, Việt Nam had conducted more than 1,200 kidney transplant cases, 54 liver transplant cases, 16 heart transplant ones and eight marrow transplant ones.

Vietnam-Belgium agricultural education cooperation successful

Cooperation in agricultural education between Vietnam and Belgium has helped improve the capacity of Vietnamese agriculture lecturers, heard a recent event in the Belgian city of Gembloux. 

The event, where foreign students at Gembloux Agro - Bio Tech (formerly Gembloux Agricultural University) and the school’s alumni shared experience, was held by the university’s alumni association on October 1. 

Andres Thewis, head of the alumni association at Gembloux Agro - Bio Tech, praised Vietnam’s development efforts, including in agriculture – one of the pillars of the economy. 

Cooperation between Gembloux Agro - Bio Tech and the Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA) has improved the quality of agriculture lecturers in Vietnam, he noted. 

Several Belgian professors have come to Vietnam to lecture and implement agricultural development programmes. A lot of Vietnamese doctors of agriculture received training at the Gembloux university, he added. 

Prof. Vu Dinh Ton, Dean of the livestock farming and aquaculture faculty at the VNUA, highlighted the importance of the partnership in agricultural education between the two countries. 

While Belgian professors have assisted Vietnamese students to complete training courses, Vietnamese students were satisfied with the studying environment in Belgium and became proficient lecturers, he said. 

At the event, Ton and some Vietnamese research students at Gembloux Agro - Bio Tech presented the cooperation results and prospects between Gembloux and Vietnam, migration’s impacts on agricultural development, and the changing aquaculture systems in northern Vietnam. 

On the occasion, the Gembloux alumni association in Vietnam was established. Forty Vietnamese students have graduated from doctoral training courses in Gembloux so far.-

Exhibit sheds light on elderly's life

Old people often live through memories. They love to tell stories about the past. They also suffer fear of loneliness, abandonment, disease and death.

Stories of the daily life of old people - their loves, happiness, family and dreams are on display at a unique exhibition in Hanoi.

The candid photos provide viewers with real insight into their spiritual life, thoughts and concerns.

The exhibition at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum displays entries selected from a photo-voice project in which old people were given cameras to take photos of their lives.

“In modern society, many old people feel lost with the pace of life while their children are busy with work and study, they even feel lonely in their home,” said Nguyen Bich Van, the museum’s director. “Have we ever wondered, should we put ourselves into the life of the old people to experience and get to know what they think and want in life?”

The project was conducted over several months at the Bach Nien Thien Duc Elderly Care Centre on the outskirts of Hanoi. Museum staff listened to stories of old people, dividing them into three themes: dreams, intimate thoughts and where new life begins.

“We have brought photo-voice projects to ethnic children and women in places affected by disaster, but there were many difficulties in approaching old people,” said Van.

“Among 300 old people living at the centre, only 33 agreed to join the project. Some refused due to bad health, others out of shyness. It was also hard to instruct them to use the camera because most of them are over 70, with weak eyes and hands.”

However, looking at the results, the museum staff was moved by the stories told by the old people about themselves. They face fear of loneliness, abandonment, disease and death, and regrets about the past. They find joy in ordinary life at the centre where they live with other old people, not their families and children.

Nguyen Thi Thong, 80, from Nam Tu Liem District, joined the project. She and Mrs Dam are from Thanh Hoa Province and share one room.

“Everyday Mrs Dam cultivates vegetables with the centre’s staff. She has told me many times that ‘staying in one place doing nothing is so uncomfortable. I love working, I do this for relief,” said Thong.

“I like her a lot so I took a photo when she was taking care of her vegetables,” she said.

Le Bich Chau, 84, from Hanoi’s Cau Giay District, has lived at the Thien Duc Centre for three years, at first with her husband but he passed away a year ago. She’s still fine and mentally healthy, reading books, writing poems and knitting.

One day, Nguyen Tuan Ngoc, the centre’s director, gave her a camera and said she could take as many photos as she wants.

She took a photo of a nurse feeding a patient who couldn’t feed herself.

“Hanh is a very kind and enthusiastic nurse, she takes care of us with kindness and everyone likes her,” said Chau. “I felt so warm when seeing her feeding the patient so I captured this.”

The exhibition is one of the events marking the International Day of Elderly People (October 1). It will run until the end of this month at the Vietnamese Women’s Museum, 36 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hanoi.

The museum is also featuring an outdoor exhibit entitled Ageless Beauty, which displays 25 photos by renowned photographer Rehahn Croquevielle displaying the natural beauty and wisdom of old Vietnamese women.

By capturing the honesty and imperfection of old age, Croquevielle brings out the charm of his characters. Despite their concern about age, these women still enjoy every moment of their lives. Each image reveals the spirit of women who successfully prove beauty is ageless.

“I believe that beauty is the combination of feeling great inside and outside. Their life experience which is seen through wrinkled eyes, their old hands coming together to express humour, self-confidence, wisdom and understanding,” he said.

The photographer will meet museum visitors and join a book signature on October 19.

Free health check-ups for 1,000 older people

Some 1,000 people aged 50 and over received free health check-ups, including tests for blood fat levels, abdominal ultrasound and general medical checks at An Sinh Hospital in HCM City’s Phú Nhuận District over the weekend. 

Organised by the hospital and Nestle’s Nutren Optimum brand, the programme marked International Day of Older Persons on October 1.

According to the United Nations, Việt Nam entered an aging period in 2011 and is among the most rapidly ageing countries in the world.

According to the Ministry of Health, the number of people over 60 will make up 18.3 per cent of the national population by 2030, doubling the 2015 figure.

The national population survey last year pointed out that only 4.8 per cent of elderly Vietnamese enjoy good or very good health, while as many as 65.4 per cent are weak or very weak.

More worrisome, their access to health care services is limited as 26.1 per cent do not hold any kind of health insurance.

Hanoi trade village tourism festival greets 30,000 visitors

About 30,000 people visited the 2016 Hanoi traditional handicraft village tourism festival at the Thang Long Royal Citadel between September 29 and October 2, said Do Dinh Hong, Director of Hanoi’s Tourism Department. 

The festival had 260 booths showcasing items made by 150 trade companies and individuals from 30 out of 47 craft villages in the city, such as Van Phuc silk, Bat Trang pottery, Phu Vinh rattan and bamboo weaving, Ha Thai lacquerware, Dinh Cong silver inlay, Quat Dong embroidery and Ngu Xa bronze casting. 

The event accomplished the goal of contributing to preserving, honouring and developing traditional crafts in combination with tourism. 

It provided a venue for artisans, businesses and travel companies to explore opportunities to arrange tours to craft villages as a sustainable tourist product. 

Seminars on how to get Vietnamese traditional craft villages involved in tourism and international integration, and to promote linkages of the local tourism agencies were held together with the marketing of thematic tourism products and discount tours. 

The festival constitutes Hanoi’s efforts in turning the festival into one of the national and regional culture-tourism events and assert the city’s position as a major tourism centre in the country and the region.

Police confiscate illegally cut wood in Đắk Lắk

The Đắk Lắk Police on Saturday said it had confiscated more than 35cu.m of wood illegally cut down in the Vọng Phu Mountain Protective Forest in the Central Highlands province’s M’Đrắk District.

Last Friday evening, the police raided the forest and discovered four people in the act of transporting the wood, which was already sawed into square pieces.

The four people, Đỗ Ngọc Khoa, Nguyễn Tiệp, Trần Khánh Linh and Hồ Văn Hùng, admitted to the police that they were hired to transport the wood out of the forest for sale.

The investigation into the logging is ongoing. 

Saigon Heat best Hanoi Buffaloes at VBA league

Saigon Heat bested the Hanoi Buffaloes 70-62 during their fourth meeting at the Việt Nam Basketball Association (VBA) League at the Canadian International School (CIS) gymnasium in HCM City on Saturday.

HCM City Wings also crushed Cantho Catfish 78-67.

Saigon Heat, the first professional basketball club in Việt Nam, still top the rankings with eight wins and four losses. HCM City Wings rank second with six wins and four loses, while Hanoi Buffaloes rank third with seven wins and five losses.

RMIT grants scholarships to Vietnamese students

The Australian Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) has awarded 98 scholarships worth VND27.5 billion (US$1.2 million) to prospective students and those studying in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as part of activities marking 15 years of operation.

Partial and full time scholarships are provided to Vietnamese students major in business, technology, design, communications, fashion, logistics and management of supply chain.  

Prof. Gael McDonald, President of RMIT University Vietnam highlighted the university’s contributions to the community since its inception in 2001, noting that these scholarships have enabled numerous Vietnamese students to grasp amplestudy opportunities at international standard universities with highly experienced lecturers, modern facilities and strong connectivity with businesses.

Up to 2016, RMIT Vietnam has granted 890 scholarships valued at more than VND205 billion to Vietnamese students.

Lingering in southern Saigon, a nightmare that stinks

An overpowering smell keeps attacking the senses of thousands of people in Ho Chi Minh City, with no end in sight.

It has been their worst nightmare, one they are doomed to relive again and again.

Over the past few months, many people in the southern districts of Ho Chi Minh City have put up with the unbearable odor, which is strongest in residential areas such as Phu My Hung, My Khanh and Phu My.

They are worried that whatever is causing the smell may be affecting their health.

A view of Da Phuoc landfill site. City authorities have recently identified the site as the source of an unbearable odor that has attacked the senses of thousands of people in Saigon.

“We are getting sick both physically and mentally from the smell,” said Hong Ha, a resident in one of the affected areas.

Others said the stench is particularly strong from midnight until morning and things get worse during the rainy season between July and September. Just like the saying, it stinks to high heaven.

Locals said the odor is so bad they are left with only two options: move home or keep breathing in.

“My family can hardly sleep," said My Thanh in Phu Gia residential area. "We can’t open the windows because the strong smell will get into the house and stay for up to two hours.” 

Local authorities have recently identified the Da Phuoc landfill site as the source of the odor. They plan to move waste disposal facilities out of the inner city to a new site that is under construction in Long An Province, about 60 kilometers southwest of Ho Chi Minh City.

Trinh Vinh, a resident in Phu Hoang Gia residential area, said he hopes the problem will be resolved quickly as thousands of lives have been turned upside down.

“I'm thinking of leaving. The smell is making us sick,” he said.

Another resident, Hong Ha, said the smell has been around for so long but “no one has been held accountable.”

“This has been going on for many years and thousands of people have been affected. We want to talk with the operator of Da Phuoc,” she continued.

The Da Phuoc landfill, which is one of the city’s two major landfill sites, is located south of the city on an area of 128 hectares (316 acres).

Vietnam Waste Solution Inc., which owns and runs the landfill, said it is working diligently to control the odor emanating from the landfill.

The volume of waste in the city has been rising at a very fast pace. The city discharges around 8,000 tons of waste a day and currently buries 75% of it, a method officials have described as “temporary”.

Hanoi to meet new style rural commune goals

Hanoi is set to meet this year’s target of 236 communes meeting all criteria under the new style rural area building programme.

As of the end of September, as many as 212 communes have met the requirements of the programme, an increase of 11 communes from the same period last year. 

The city has completed planning for new style rural area building in each commune. 

Infrastructure and irrigation facilities have been upgraded at communal and district levels. All related communes have fulfilled power and post service criteria. 

The rate of poor households has also reduced, by 109 communes from 2015. 

In the last three months this year, Hanoi will focus on enhancing awareness among local cadres and people of the importance of new style rural areas, while accelerating reissuing agricultural land use licenses. 

The programme aims to lift the living standards of people, develop socio-economic infrastructure, and restructure the economy. 

It also aims to combine agricultural with urban development and create a democratic, equal and stable rural society with traditional culture. 

The national programme targets the average commune completing at least 15 out of 19 criteria and no commune should have completed less than five criteria. 

Under the programme, facilities like roads, electricity, clean water, schools and medical stations will be developed. 

Total State investment capital for the national target programme is estimated to be at least 193 trillion VND (8.66 billion USD), of which 63 trillion VND will be from the central budget and 130 trillion VND from local budgets.

Over 1 million Vietnamese live in hunger

More than one million Vietnamese people are not having enough food to eat, according to a new official report, which has blamed severe drought and the recent toxic spill scandal for worsening the nation's poverty problem.

The General Statistics Office has found that around 6% of all Vietnamese families, or 1.4 million households, are living under the poverty line, or earning less than VND4.8 million (US$215) a year per capita. Last year's poverty rate was 4.5%.

Among them, more than 251,000 families are in extreme poverty and have to suffer hunger on a daily basis. That translates to over 1 million persons in hunger, up 15.4% compared to this time last year.

The statistics office's report blamed the situation on severe drought and salt intrusion in many areas.

The worst drought in the country in 100 years destroyed nearly 260,000 hectares of rice and vegetables, more than 160,000 hectares of orchards and cash crops and more than 4,500 hectares of seafood farms in southern and central Vietnam in the first four months. The damage has been estimated at US$250 million.

Mass fish deaths caused by the toxic spill from Taiwanese steel firm Formosa along the central coast in April were also a factor in pushing many families into poverty, the report said.

The environment disaster created a seafood scare across the country and hit tourism in beach towns, harming the livelihoods of thousands of people.

Nguyen Bich Lam, head of the statistics office, said the Formosa scandal is going to affect Vietnam’s economy in the long run.

“The impacts of the incident will last for years, affecting a number of industries including tourism," he was quoted by local media as saying.

Vietnam has been universally praised for its efforts to tackle poverty over the past decades. But even after the economy has moved up and achieved the middle-income status, hunger and poverty continue to hurt many people.

A new policy effective later this year will redefine poverty as earning less than VND8.4 million (US$374) a year per person. 

This new threshold is expected to raise the ratio of poor families in the country to 10%, or more than 2.3 million.

HCM City doctors remove 2.6kg tumor from woman’s pleural cavity

Doctors in Ho Chi Minh City have succeeded in removing a giant tumor from the pleural cavity of a female patient.

Practitioners at the University Medical Center in the southern hub performed a surgery on a 39-year-old woman to remove a 2.6 kilogram tumor from her pleural cavity, said Tran Thanh Vy, head of the infirmary’s vascular and thoracic department.

The patient was hospitalized on September 27 after she experienced pain in her stomach and pressure on her left chest.

Her CT scan result showed a giant tumor in the left side of her pleural cavity, pressing her heart, blood pressure, and airway.

After thorough consultation, doctors decided to cut off the patient’s sixth rib to remove her tumor.

Following the operation, the woman’s health condition began to stabilize as her internal organs returned to their normal positions.

“The patient’s pleural cavity has a volume of three liters and is able to withstand a mass of up to three kilograms. She would only live for a few more months if the tumor had not been removed urgently,” Dr. Vy was quoted by Dan Tri newswire as saying.

She recommended that people seek for professional help when suffering chronic coughing, chest pain, and difficulty breathing as they could potentially have a tumor in their pleural cavity.

HCMC continues suffering bad weather

The southern provinces and Ho Chi Minh City are going to suffer the bad weather phenomenon of medium- heavy rains, thunderstorms, powerful wind and cyclone on the large scale in the evenings due to range of intertropical convergence in companied with the strong operation of the southwest monsoon, warned the National Hydrology Meteorology Forecast Center.

From October 3, the intertropical converge range continues operateing stronger. In addition, wind convergence zone will appear in the center of the East Sea causing medium- heavy rains on the large scale in the southern region.

By October 5- 6, high- pressure area of continental clod air masses continues moving into the southern region.

Heavy rains in companied with high tide will cause heavy flooding and traffic jam on the large scale in the lower areas near small rivers and canals in district 2, 7, Binh Thanh, Thu Duc and Nha Be districts in the evenings.

Kien Giang Province prevents drowning accidents of children

Director of the Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs in the Mekong delta province of Kien Giang Dang Hong Son said that the department is carrying out the program for accidential injury prevention among kids following deaths of drowning children.

In 2014, the province reported 22 children died in drowning accidents; in 2015 additional 15 kids drowned and since the beginning of the year, the deaths of more seven kids in drowning accidents in Rach Gia Town and Kien Luong District have broken people’s hearts and set off alarm bells.

Accordingly, the Department will implement the program of accidential injury prevention for kids in the period 2016-2020 aiming to reduce the number of drowing deaths among children; increase people’s awareness of swimming learning; build up safe house, school and the community.

Additionally, the department will provide swimming training to children across the province and liaise with related agencies to work out swimming training plan and monitor implementation of river safety regulation and safety for children in swimming pool. 

The provinces’ Youth Communist Union of Le Hong Tham said that annually, around 100,000 youth communist members are trained to teach swimming for kids. Unions provide free swimming training for children in summer season. Children Culture House in Kien Giang Province has planned to provide gratis swimming training to children from low-income families in the province.

On September 10, heart-breaking death of brother and sister Tran Vo Phuong Anh, 14, and Tran Vo Phuong Ly, 10 died in drowning accident in a river near Xuyen A bridge in Rach Gia Town. Phuong Anh and his sister Phuong Ly along with their friend together swam in the river. Discovering that his sister was falling into deep hole, Phuong Anh swam to rescue yet he drowned. Inhabitants’ efforts to rescue them were unrewarded and rescue crews and fire fighters were mobilized to fish their body out of the river after two hours.

On the same day, 14 year old Tran Quoc Viet in Kien Luong District and his friend swam in the river near sewer Ba Hon; unfortunately, when they were playing together, Viet fell into the sewer and he was swept into the sea. Before in August three kids from seven to ten years old in Binh An Commune in Kien Luong District died from drowning because they fell into a pool to raise shrimp in the back of the house.

HCMC’s first district launches level 3 online public service

The People’s Committee of Binh Tan District in HCMC yesterday launched level 3 online public service, making it the first district in the city to implement the service in fields covering economics, civil status and construction.

Citizens doing procedures related to the above fields just need to use the email available on the district’s website to send necessary information.

Officials in charge of the fields at the district’s departments will give online feedbacks to citizens.

On the first day, a lot of individuals and organizations used the service to apply for construction licenses and business registration certificates, report labor reduction and register payrolls. Many of them were conducted successfully within the day.

Citizens can learn more about the service at the district’s headquarters or website.

According to Vietnamnews, there are four levels of public service registration.

Level 1: Procedures to fill in the required forms and information about time and service cost are available on-line.

Level 2: The service allows the user to download the required forms to be printed out and filled in later.

Level 3: The applicant can fill in and submit the forms on-line.

Level 4: Service payments can be settled on-line. Transaction results are available either on-line or by post, upon request.

Deputy PM urges intellectual property reforms

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has asked the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) for radical reforms to better promote scientific and technological innovations in Vietnam.

“Simplified procedures could encourage more inventors to register for IP rights protections,” he said when visiting NOIP this week.

Organisations, individuals and business were concerned most about administration procedures and cost, he said. He asked the NOIP office to review current processing procedures and seek measures to reduce the time expended on each application.

Pham Viet Thanh, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology and head of the National Office of Intellectual Property, said that from 2011-15 the office received more than 390,000 applications for IP right protection, of which, nearly 340,000 were solved and over 50,000 unsolved.

Applications continue to increase both in quantity and in levels of complication, requiring more time to verify and assess, he said.

“The number of unsolved applications is a result of insufficient infrastructure, staff and cumbersome procedures,” he said.

He added that another difficulty is finance: application cost has remained unchanged for years and is much lower than in neighbouring countries.

For example, in Vietnam, inventors pay 1.26 million VND (56 USD) to have an invention assessed, but the rate in Malaysia is 4.7 times higher, in Philippines 1.3 times higher and in Singapore 32.8 times higher.

Le Huy Anh, Head of Patent No2 Division, said that the NOIP still requires written register applications but that it expects to receive e-applications by the end of this year.

Head of Enforcement and Complaint Settlement Division NguyenThanh Hong said that under the Law on Intellectual Property and relevant legal documents, assessors must not directly contact applicants.

“Few tiny mistakes in an application form must be informed by mail, which can take a few weeks for mistakes to be corrected. If allowed, e-mail can help save much time,” he said.

Moreover, about 90 per cent of applications by foreign businesses or individuals are submitted not only in Vietnam but also in other countries, pushing the need for stronger technology systems that help assessors connect and share assessment results.

Deputy PM Dam said that regulations on IP assessment cost must be in line with international practices but still affordable for domestic inventors.

“To major foreign enterprises, they prioritise transparency, time saving and law enforcement, rather than the sum paid for IP assessment,” he said, noting that the NOIP should learn from the experiences of other countries for better performance.-

Lao Cai marks 25th anniversary of re-establishment

The northern mountainous province of Lao Cai held a ceremony on October 1 to mark the 25th anniversary of its re-establishment (October 1, 1991 – 2016) after the former Hoang Lien Son province was split into Lao Cai and Yen Bai provinces.

Nguyen Van Binh, Politburo member, Secretary of Party Central Committee (PCC) and Head of the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, attended the event and presented the Labour Order, first class, to the province.

Addressing the ceremony, Binh, who is also head of the Steering Committee for the Northwestern Region, appreciated the achievements that the province has gained in socio-economic development, defence, security and Party building over the past 25 years.

He emphasised that the province plays an important role in linking the economic corridor from Kunming to Lao Cai, Hanoi and Hai Phong as well as a bridge connecting Vietnam with China and the ASEAN – China free market.

Binh urged Lao Cai to seize opportunities and make full use of advantages to enhance northwestern regional links.

The province should focus on making the border economic zone into a large economic centre as well as create attractive policies for investment on infrastructure and cooperation between domestic and foreign enterprises and organisations to comprehensively develop local tourism, added Binh.

He asked Lao Cai to continue to consolidate local defence and security and maintain political security and social order and safety as well as actively prevent and handle arising problems in localities, particularly those related to religion and border areas.

The province needs to pay ample attention to Party building and accelerating the campaign ‘Studying and following President Ho Chi Minh’s moral example, he said.

Also the same day, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in collaboration with the Lao Cai provincial People’s Committee held the Northwestern Region Ethnic Minorities Festival with a ceremony held in Lao Cai city.

This year’s festival sees the participation of eight provinces including Lao Cai, Hoa Binh, Son La, Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Yen Bai, Phu Tho and Ha Giang.

Fire prevention and fighting police asked to enhance efficacy

President Tran Dai Quang has urged the fire prevention and fighting police force to enhance the efficacy of State management over fire prevention and rescue, while rolling out comprehensive measures to avoid fire and explosion.

Speaking at a ceremony in Hanoi on October 2 to mark the 55th traditional day of the fire prevention and fighting police and the 15th anniversary of Day for All People to Participate in Fire Prevention and Fighting, the President asked the force to build plans for fire prevention, combat and rescue in major localities and works as well as high-risk areas.

He underscored the importance of close coordination among forces, especially between public security and defence forces in fire rescue, as well as the application of advanced technology in enhancing the effectiveness of fire prevention fighting and rescue.

At the same time, it is necessary to mobilise social resources for the research and production of fire safety and rescue equipment, while expanding international cooperation in civil defence.

The president lauded the achievements that the force has made in the past 55 years, with advices to the Party and State in building legal system on fire prevention and fighting.

He held that amidst the country’s socio-economic development and speedy urbanisation, together with climate change impacts and prolonged drought in many regions, the tasks of the force are becoming more challenging.

He requested the force to focus on consulting the Party and State on policy and law on fire preventing and fighting, and expanding the movement encouraging the engagement of all people in fire prevention, fighting and rescue.

Since fire prevention and fighting police force was formed on October 4, 1961, the force has played an important role in maintaining security and social order of the country, serving the national socio-economic development.

The Law on Fire Prevention and Fight was adopted on June 29, 2011 and revised in 2013. Since 2011, the traditional day of the fire prevention and fighting police became the Day for All People to Participate in Fire Prevention and Fighting.

During the ceremony, President Tran Dai Quang also presented the Fatherland Protection Order, first class to the force.

Dien Bien should have breakthroughs in tourism development: PM

The northwestern province of Dien Bien should have breakthroughs in developing tourism thanks to its potential such as ecological system, geography, culture and history, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has told local authorities.

The province also needs to pay due attention to investment, promotion and development of its tourism brand name based on the rich traditional culture of local ethnic minority groups, the PM said during his working session with local officials in Dien Bien on October 1.

Besides, he asked the province to focus on boosting agriculture and forestry development and pay heed to improving the locals’ intellectual level along with reducing poverty, especially through training programmes.

He recommended Dien Bien to expand and upgrade its system of schools and training institutions, facilitating those from ethnic minority groups to further access education and training. He said the province needs to consider the work an important measure to escape from poverty and boost local social-economic development.

Dien Bien was suggested completing its planning for functional areas in its economic development structure in industry and agriculture, along with tapping advantages from forests and climate to step up planting and breeding.

During the meeting, he noted the province to ensure security political security and social order as well as to develop the border gate economy, market promotion and fight smuggling and trade fraud.

The PM said he hopes Dien continue maintaining and promoting friendship with neighouring countries.

Dien Bien is one of the most difficult localities in the northwest region with the poor household rate of over 48 percent.

The province has exerted every effort to overcome difficulties to obtain encouraging outcomes in socio-economic development and poverty reduction. 

The Gross Regional Domestic Products (GRDP) in the first nine months of this year grew 7 percent from the same period last year. Total local state budget collection in the reviewed period was 4.9 trillion VND, or 74.55 percent of the estimates set by the provincial People’s Council.

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