Nghe An is a province with a long history of formation and development, rich in revolutionary traditions and studious spirit; has rich and unique cultural resources, the homeland of the Nghe Tinh Vi and Giam Folk Song Heritage which has been recognized by UNESCO as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity; is a "spiritual land of talented people", the homeland of many patriots, especially the homeland of President Ho Chi Minh.
Throughout the long history, Nghe An has been a stopping place in the process of our ancestors opening the country, sometimes it was an outpost, a battlefield, a “hot pond citadel”; sometimes it was the rear, the base for many resistance wars against foreign invaders of the nation, the “key of dynasties”. Especially, in the long struggle for national independence and unification in the 20th century, Nghe An was one of the localities that “took the lead, rose up first”, especially with the climax of the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement in 1930-1931, and was a great rear in the two great wars of national defense against French colonialism and American imperialism…
However, entering the country's innovation process, looking back at the development results of the province, is it true that "Nghe An is ahead and behind" is a saying that has become a concern in the face of current reality; especially in the economic field, the transformation of the growth model and restructuring of the province's economy is still unclear.
Nghe An has an abundant labor force (over 2 million people of working age); education is affirmed to be at the top of the country with a tradition of studiousness, has many universities and colleges, but still struggles with the problem of developing high-tech industries. From very early on, Nghe An had new agricultural models, but until now it has not been able to become a strong agricultural province and get rich from agriculture.
Favored by nature with many beautiful and interesting landscapes, “green mountains and blue water like a picture”; a rich system of cultural and historical relics… Nghe An has developed tourism very early, but until now it has not been able to become a province with a strong tourism brand. Someone said, Cua Lo beach is beautiful, Thanh Chuong tea hills are very charming, Pu Mat forest has diverse flora and fauna, Ky Son mountain forests are majestic,… but Nghe An’s famous landscapes and landscapes have not yet attracted tourists.
Cua Lo Port was built quite early (1979), located in an extremely favorable position for international trade, especially transporting goods to Laos and the Northeast of Thailand, with quite good advantages compared to other ports in the region, but has not been able to compete effectively in the new mechanism, while the volume of goods loaded and unloaded through other seaports in the Central region has increased very rapidly...
The above issues are just a few general examples of the many paradoxical developments of Nghe An that we can point out in reality.
At the conference on socio-economic development of Nghe An, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Xuan Thang - Politburo member, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics once mentioned the above "paradox": "Perhaps, that is the biggest concern of the people of Nghe An, of the land famous for its studiousness, resilience and spirit. In the past, the people of Nghe An were always proud of being "poor but good at studying". Today, perhaps we should re-ask the question: Why are the people of Nghe An intelligent, good at studying, diligent and hard-working but their homeland is still not rich? The so-called "Nghe An paradox" is certainly not an obvious problem, but when and how Nghe An can escape that paradox is still a question and an obsession for many years and many terms for the province".
Economist Tran Dinh Thien - former Director of the Vietnam Economic Institute, Deputy Head of the Economic and Social Advisory Group of Nghe An province, said: "In the general development level of the whole country, even in some basic aspects, Nghe An is still a relatively underdeveloped province. Considering a long process, like many provinces in the North Central region, Nghe An is a locality considered "difficult to develop". That is truly a paradox, Nghe An, although a land of "talented people", has not yet found a solution from reality. In relation to the stature, role and national position of Nghe An, there is a basis to affirm that this "development paradox" is a problem of national scale".
As mentioned, in many past terms, the Party Committee, government and people of Nghe An province have always been concerned and made efforts to overcome difficulties to build their homeland to develop more and more. The Politburo has also always paid special attention by issuing separate Conclusions and Resolutions on Nghe An, aiming to orient the strategy, vision and create motivation to help the province develop commensurate with its position, role and potential.
On June 2, 2003, the 9th Politburo issued Conclusion No. 20-KL/TW on Nghe An. After 10 years of implementing Conclusion No. 20-KL/TW, Nghe An's economy continued to grow well and shift in the right direction. The average GDP growth rate in the 5 years 2006-2010 reached 9.75%; the average growth rate in the period 2011-2012 was 8.8%; in 2012, the average income per capita reached more than 20 million VND/year; the annual budget revenue increased well, reaching 5,692 billion VND, 3.62 times higher than in 2003.
However, after 10 years of implementing Conclusion 20-KL/TW, it shows that Nghe An has not fully exploited its potential and advantages, is still a poor province, economic growth has not reached the set target and is not sustainable, has not attracted investment, created breakthroughs, there are aspects at risk of falling behind; average income per capita is only 70% compared to the national average; some social issues have not been well resolved.
In that context, on the basis of summarizing Conclusion No. 20-KL/TW and aiming to provide new directions for the province's development, on July 30, 2013, the 11th Politburo issued Resolution No. 26-NQ/TW on the direction and tasks for the development of Nghe An province until 2020, with the goal of "continuing to improve the leadership capacity and fighting strength of the Party organization, strengthening solidarity and unity, promoting internal strength, utilizing and attracting all resources both inside and outside the province and abroad, striving to build Nghe An into a fairly well-off province in the Northern region by 2015, creating the foundation to basically become an industrial province by 2020; a center of finance, trade, tourism, education and training, science and technology, health, culture, sports, high-tech industry of the North Central region; having a synchronous and gradually modern infrastructure system; material and spiritual life; The people's spirit was raised; there was an advanced culture, imbued with Nghe An's identity; national defense and security were strong, and social order and safety were ensured. At that time, Nghe An was the only province, apart from the five centrally-run cities (Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Da Nang, Can Tho) for which the Politburo issued a separate resolution, showing the Politburo's special attention to President Ho Chi Minh's homeland.
To achieve the goals set out in Resolution 26-NQ/TW, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong once emphasized: “Nghe An first of all needs to innovate its thinking more strongly, move forward with its own strength; mobilize all resources in the province and outside the province for development; put Nghe An's development in the overall region, to have links and connections with surrounding provinces and even regions within its own province. Nghe An must promote the strength of economic sectors, including the private economy and the economy with foreign investment capital. Central support is necessary, it is a must, but Nghe An needs to promote its internal strength, this is the limitless thing.”
On March 21, 2019, at the Party Central Committee headquarters, the Politburo held a working session with the Standing Committee of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee to review 5 years of implementing Resolution No. 26/NQ-TW on the direction and tasks for Nghe An province's development until 2020. At this working session, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong assessed: "Through practice, Nghe An has seen the direction, seen what we need to do".
Based on the inheritance of the viewpoints, objectives, tasks and main solutions of Resolution No. 26 NQ/TW, the Politburo issued Notice No. 55-TB/TW dated April 20, 2019, updating, adjusting and supplementing a number of tasks and solutions to develop Nghe An province; at the same time, agreeing to summarize Resolution No. 26 NQ/TW in 2023.
Conclusion No. 20-KL/TW, Resolution No. 26-NQ/TW, Notice No. 55-TB/TW of the Politburo have demonstrated the consistency, continuity and practicality in the Party's policies and orientations on the development of Nghe An province; are an important basis for the Government, ministries and branches to issue mechanisms and policies to supplement and attract resources for development; are an important basis for Nghe An province to build a development strategy in accordance with the Party's policies and guidelines and the characteristics and practical situation of the locality.
