The Central Steering Committee's working delegation on summarizing Resolution 26 surveyed the border area in Nghe An.

On the morning of November 19, in Mon Son commune (Con Cuong), the working delegation of the Central Steering Committee conducted a field survey to serve the summary of Resolution 26 dated July 30, 2013 of the Politburo on the direction and tasks for the development of Nghe An province until 2020, led by comrade Nguyen Hong Son - Deputy Head of the Central Economic Committee, and had a working session with Con Cuong district on tourism development and implementation of the new rural construction program in the border area of ​​Con Cuong district.

Attending the meeting were comrades: Hoang Nghia Hieu - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Nguyen Van De - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; representatives of leaders of provincial departments, branches and sectors and Con Cuong district. Photo: Thanh Le

Building new countryside associated with tourism

Con Cuong district is a locality with potential for tourism development with many landscapes and destinations such as: Pu Mat National Park, Khe Kem waterfall, Nang Man cave, Nuoc Moc stream, Pha Lai dam - Giang river, etc. In the locality, ethnic minorities still preserve many unique traditional cultural features, craft villages, and traditional cuisine.

In particular, in 2015, the Provincial People's Committee approved the Project to build Con Cuong district into an ecologically oriented urban area. This is the premise for Con Cuong to develop community ecotourism and become the economic and cultural center of the Southwest region of Nghe An province.

Comrade Nguyen Van De - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee reported on the situation of new rural construction in 27 border communes of Nghe An. Photo: Thanh Le

In recent years, the implementation of tourism activities has achieved many remarkable results. Tourism infrastructure and facilities have been built, many tourist destinations have attracted investors. Ecotourism and community tourism have developed strongly, attracting a large number of tourists, creating jobs, increasing income, and contributing to preserving the cultural identity of ethnic minorities.

Implementing the new rural construction movement, up to now, Con Cuong district has 3/12 communes recognized by the province as meeting new rural standards; 23/107 villages and hamlets meeting new rural standards; the average of the whole district reaching 12.4/19 criteria/commune.

Comrade Nguyen Dinh Hung - Secretary of Con Cuong District Party Committee discussed and clarified some contents of interest to the working delegation. Photo: Thanh Le

Poverty reduction work has been promoted, the rate of poor households in the district is 22.93%; near-poor households account for 15.18%.

In Con Cuong district, there are 13 OCOP products, of which 6 products have 3 stars and 7 products have 4 stars; 3 community tourism spots in Khe Ran village (Bong Khe commune), Nua village (Yen Khe commune) and Xieng village (Mon Son commune).

Comrade Hoang Nghia Hieu - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee clarified the causes and difficulties in the work of building new rural areas in the province's border communes. Photo: Thanh Le

Con Cuong district has two border communes, Chau Khe and Mon Son, with a length of over 61.8 km bordering Laos. The main source of income for the people is mainly agricultural and forestry production.

In addition to resources for implementing the National Target Program on New Rural Development, the district's two border communes have been supplemented with resources from the New Rural Development Project in 27 border communes in Nghe An, aiming at socio-economic development according to Decision 61/TTg of the Prime Minister. Thanks to the attention of the Party and the State, infrastructure and people's lives in the border areas have been improved.

Comrade Nguyen Hong Son - Deputy Head of the Central Economic Commission spoke at the meeting. Photo: Thanh Le

Accordingly, Mon Son commune has 14 villages, of which 5/14 villages meet new rural standards; the average commune meets 12/19 new rural criteria; average income per capita reaches 23.7 million VND/year; poverty rate is 21.7%. The number of schools meeting national standards is 5/6 schools; the commune meets national standards on health.

Chau Khe commune has achieved 12/19 new rural criteria, of which 3/9 villages and hamlets have met the standards; average income per capita reached 24.7 million VND/year; the number of schools meeting national standards is 3/4 schools; the commune has met national standards on health.

Leaders of Nghe An province and Con Cuong district attended the meeting. Photo: Thanh Le

However, the local difficulties are that infrastructure and facilities are still lacking and have not met the criteria for building new rural areas; people's lives still face many difficulties, their livelihoods depend on natural forests, the rate of poor households among ethnic minorities is still high, especially the Dan Lai ethnic group, the poverty rate is still nearly 100%...

Preserve and promote national cultural identity

Discussing and exchanging at the meeting, members of the working delegation requested Con Cuong district to clarify some contents related to production and business development associated with preserving cultural identity; attracting investment in the tourism sector; spearhead and main tourism types of Con Cuong district; developing potential and advantages from forests and policies to create livelihoods for ethnic minorities.

Before working with Con Cuong district, the delegation surveyed the Xieng Brocade Weaving Cooperative, Mon Son commune. Photo: Thanh Le

Delegates also asked Con Cuong district to clarify the local difficulties in implementing Decision 61/QD-TTg, dated January 12, 2018 of the Prime Minister.

Speaking at the meeting, Comrade Hoang Nghia Hieu - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee acknowledged and highly appreciated the efforts of Con Cuong district in socio-economic development, new rural construction, and formation of key tourist areas in the mountainous region of Nghe An.

The delegation surveyed traditional products of ethnic minorities in Con Cuong district. Photo: Thanh Le

Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Hoang Nghia Hieu suggested that in the coming time, the district should focus on economic development, building new rural areas associated with tourism; new rural areas associated with agriculture; tourism associated with services; economic development associated with preserving and promoting cultural identity values; ensuring the environment; maintaining national defense and security; and taking care of Party building work.

The delegation visited the market in Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district. Photo: Thanh Le

Speaking at the meeting, comrade Nguyen Hong Son said that Con Cuong district's efforts to build the district into a town in the direction of an ecological urban area is the right direction. On that basis, the district focuses on promoting the potential advantages of local socio-economic development.

The survey team visited Pha Lai dam, Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district. Photo: Thanh Le

The working group surveyed experiential tourism on Giang River, Mon Son Commune, Con Cuong District. Photo: Thanh Le

Based on the analysis of local difficulties, the Deputy Head of the Central Economic Commission emphasized the requirements on policies and resources to effectively implement the goals set by Con Cuong district.

Comrade Nguyen Hong Son also suggested that the district continue to have solutions to improve the quality of tourism and services; maintain and promote national cultural identity, preserve the ecological environment associated with ensuring national defense and security.