A loving reunion

(Baonghean) - The fresh autumn sunshine of Nghe An and the bustling waves of Cua Lo sea shared the joy of the reunion between leaders and businesses of Ho Chi Minh City and leaders and businesses of Nghe An province in the conference summarizing 10 years of implementing the socio-economic development cooperation program between the two localities (2003 - 2014). The results achieved are extremely meaningful, but more than that, the responsibility and affection of the children from the city named after Uncle Ho have tried to contribute to building new achievements for their homeland Nghe An, so that today they can come here together to re-evaluate a "sweet fruit season" and welcome new "opportunities" in cooperation and investment...

Binh Minh Avenue of Cua Lo Town was brightly decorated with flags and banners welcoming the joyful event. Saigon Kim Lien Resort Hotel was splendidly decorated, bustling with excitement during the conference summarizing 10 years of the Development Cooperation Program between Ho Chi Minh City and Nghe An province, Uncle Ho's hometown - an important event, marking a milestone in effective investment cooperation between the two localities. The welcoming performance with soulful Vi and Dam melodies brought brothers, friends and children far from home back to Nghe An on this beautiful, sunny autumn day, as if resonating with the warm, friendly joy of reunion.

“The aspiration of our province is to build Nghe An into a rich and developed province, so we hope to receive many valuable comments for the leaders of Nghe An province to understand and implement” - that heartfelt and sincere statement by comrade Ho Duc Phoc - Secretary of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee seemed to fully express the warm welcome and gratitude of the people of Uncle Ho's hometown towards the city named after him. That is what is currently present and practically contributing to the vibrant development of Nghe An today with investment projects of enterprises and businessmen from Ho Chi Minh City. That decade was truly a “sweet fruit season” with dozens of investment projects that have brought high efficiency in Nghe An among 45 investment, production and business projects of over 30 enterprises of the City with a total registered capital of more than 150,000 billion VND. And surely the image of the Ho Chi Minh City leadership delegation directly visiting the flood-stricken Nghe An people and giving relief gifts will forever be engraved in the "chronology" of the cooperation, caring and sharing of joys and hardships between the Party Committees and people of the two localities. Thousands of shelters for the poor in Nghe An have sprung up from the kind hearts of the people of Ho Chi Minh City; many schools and commune headquarters have been built; thousands of children and patients with disabilities have been treated and supported with rehabilitation equipment to have the smiles of children, or the simple joys and happiness of everyday life... also from that deep affection. Not only that, there are many noble gestures of businessmen in the city named after Uncle Ho who have supported the construction of the Truong Bon Historical Relic Site, contributed to "Tet for the poor and victims of Agent Orange" to ease the after-effects of war in the still difficult homeland of Nghe An.

Worthy of that favor, in recent years, with innovative thinking and determination, Nghe An province has focused on exploiting and promoting potentials and advantages, improving quality, efficiency, and competitiveness to strongly attract investment for development, constantly promoting production, taking care of people's lives, creating momentum for new rural construction and gradually turning Vinh city into a regional center...

Provincial leaders welcomed the delegation at Vinh Airport. Photo: Sy Minh

Not only in the atmosphere of this conference, but comrade Le Thanh Hai - Politburo member, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee was very moved every time he visited Nghe An, before the affection of the leaders and people of Nghe An for him. Remember, at the meeting between the leaders of Ho Chi Minh City and the leaders of Nghe An province in August 2013, he said: "Because of our feelings, wishes, enthusiasm, and responsibility for the homeland of beloved Uncle Ho, we must discuss to have a specific plan in the near future..." And today, at this conference, that enthusiasm was again conveyed with a new determination. He affirmed: "The Party Committee and people of Ho Chi Minh City always determine their responsibility towards Nghe An, are happy with the joy of the Party Committee and people of Nghe An province, and at the same time, consider the difficulties and challenges that Nghe An has experienced as our own". That sentiment of the highest leader is both a call and an encouragement for businessmen and enterprises of Ho Chi Minh City to turn more strongly to Uncle Ho's homeland with specific projects and actions. For example, the statement of the Director of Saigon Tourist Corporation: "Saigon Tourist Corporation always strives to determine its responsibility and commitment to Nghe An, just in a... quiet way!". Yes, quietly, this unit has connected and led the way for medical support activities, free surgery in Nghe An, directed Saigon Kim Lien Joint Stock Company to invest in Saigon Kim Lien Resort Hotel in Cua Lo to contribute to supporting more accommodation for visitors to Cua Lo; at the same time, training more and more skilled workers in tourism expertise. And Mr. Nguyen Canh Nam - Chairman of Nghe Tinh Business Association in Ho Chi Minh City, on behalf of 300 Nghe business members, felt the responsibility for the homeland on his shoulders. He compared a heavy shoulder to fulfilling the responsibility of the enterprise to Ho Chi Minh City, another heavy shoulder to be a bridge to develop the hometown province, so that there is a place to "go back"! However, as he said, that "heavy shoulder" is an honor, a pride, a correct and inevitable choice...

Also on this happy day, we heard many sincere and touching shares from businessmen from the city named after Uncle Ho about investment opportunities in Nghe An. Mr. Le Phuoc Vu - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Hoa Sen Steel Corporation - Ho Chi Minh City, the unit has 15,000 billion VND in revenue/year and reached 18,000 billion VND in 2015, is currently the largest steel sheet manufacturing enterprise in Southeast Asia, so big investors always have many investment opportunities but meeting Nghe An, investing in Nghe An for him is a "fate", because he "caught" the desire and desire for investment of the provincial leaders and met "heavenly timing". Mr. Le Phuoc Vu said, right when he was wondering about finding an investment location, the Ministry of Transport had a policy of banning overloaded vehicles, so "investing in a factory in the North is very suitable". And also in the process of choosing between Vung Ang - Ha Tinh and Nghe An, he met the leaders of Nghe An province. As a result, the Hoa Sen steel factory is expected to start construction in October 2014 in Nghe An with a total investment of about 2,900 billion VND. Mr. Tran Thanh Su - General Director of Nguyen Kim Company, the unit with a new project starting today (September 20), is also excited to have found a good land to invest in the project. He confided that although it is late, it is not too late to come to Nghe An, to Thanh Vinh, a land with rich market potential. Therefore, the group will invest in a 12,000 m2 shopping center, with the appearance of a modern electronics supermarket. Leaders of Saigon Industry Corporation, General Director of Saigon Agriculture Corporation also said that they are eagerly looking forward to having a location to invest in a factory in Nghe An.

Ho Chi Minh City businesses donated VND9.1 billion to support social security for Nghe An province. Photo: Sy Minh

The conference summarizing 10 years of cooperation between Ho Chi Minh City and Nghe An ended, the enthusiasm, affection and desire for a period of tightening and enhancing the relationship between the two localities ahead were realized by signing a cooperation agreement for the period 2014 - 2020 with the principle of comprehensiveness and being a long-term strategic task, equality, voluntary and proactive between the leaders of the two sides. It was like adding to the reunion affections....

Chau Lan