Affirming the aspiration to rise in every Nghe An person

(Baonghean) - At the end of 2017, Nghe An achieved comprehensive results in all fields, creating momentum for development in 2018. On the occasion of the New Year, comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation gave an interview to Nghe An Newspaper about the results of the past year and orientation for 2018.

Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue and Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh visit Vissai wharf. File photo.

PV:In 2017, Nghe An had a very successful year in socio-economic development. How do you evaluate the above results?

Comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh:Socio-economic indicators are a very important measure of the level of task completion of the entire political system, and at the same time assess the level of socio-economic development of the province. Therefore, in 2017, achieving and exceeding all 27/27 indicators demonstrated that the socio-economic development continued. In particular, the growth rate of 8.25% is very meaningful, because in the past 3 years, we have not completed this target.

The industrial and construction sector continued to grow strongly, reaching 13.5%, in which the industrial sector grew strongly again with an increase of 15.89%. This is the result of investment attraction programs over the past years with large projects such as Hoa Sen Steel, Song Lam Cement Factory, MDF Wood Processing Factory in Nghia Dan... coming into operation.

This year, many storms directly affected the province, causing considerable damage. However, with the initiative of Party committees, authorities at all levels and the people, the agriculture, forestry and fishery sector had a year of overcoming difficulties, production value increased by 4.58% compared to the plan of 4 - 4.5%, total food output in paddy equivalent for the whole year reached more than 1.2 million tons.

The service sector, which accounts for a large proportion of the province's economic structure, has also achieved a growth rate of 7.14%; in which the tourism industry has recovered strongly (the total number of visitors for the whole year is estimated at 3.9 million, up 21%, of which international visitors reached 80,000), with revenue of VND 5,890 billion. Budget revenue reached over VND 12,000 billion; import-export turnover reached over USD 1 billion.

The socio-economic picture of the province in 2017 was quite vibrant, demonstrating the efforts of the entire political system and the people of the province. Our province is aiming to become a fairly developed province in the Northern region, so the annual growth rate must strive to reach and exceed the figure of 2017. Thus, Nghe An can maintain the pace of development compared to other localities, and even develop more.

PV:Nghe An is considered to have great development potential, but is still not a rich province. As the head of the provincial political system, what are your concerns, Mr. Provincial Party Secretary?

Comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh:We often say that Nghe An has a large land area and a large population, which is an advantage. However, due to its low starting point, with more than 80% of the area being mountainous, under the current resource conditions, synchronous investment and comprehensive completion of socio-economic infrastructure is very difficult.

On the other hand, the province's location is not close to major economic centers and far from deep-water seaports; road and air traffic have been improved, but are not yet completely favorable.

In short, the province is large, has a large population, a low starting point, an unfavorable geographical location, and a harsh climate, which are very big disadvantages. In a context that is not necessarily more favorable than other localities, the goal of our province developing faster is clearly a big challenge.

Provincial Party Secretary Nguyen Dac Vinh visited the avocado growing model of Mr. Tran Hung Dao's family in Nghia Phu commune, Nghia Dan district. Photo: File.

Therefore, to achieve the goal of becoming a fairly developed province, the objective advantage is that the province receives special attention and support from the Party and the State. In the near future, the Hanoi - Vientiane expressway with route passing through Thanh Thuy border gate (Thanh Chuong), the North - South expressway section through Nghe An will be completed, the development of deep-water seaports and international airports will be a great improvement in traffic and a boost for Nghe An development.

As for the province, in my opinion, the greatest resource is the talented, strong-willed, loyal people of Nghe An, along with the historical and cultural traditions of the homeland, which are the strength for development. The problem is to convert this potential into truly clear steps.

First of all, we must take care of human resources, which means taking care of education, training, and health care, so that people can develop comprehensively and become good human resources. On the other hand, the most important factor is that we must unite and be determined to build and develop our homeland.

The province also continues to focus on administrative reform towards service, transparency and efficiency; promulgating and amending policies to create favorable conditions for enterprises in the province to produce and do business effectively, as well as attracting many large domestic and foreign enterprises and corporations to invest.

On the other hand, the big solution is to create growth poles. The coastal areas develop the industrial, tourism and service sectors; form raw material areas to supply processing factories in the West, focusing on developing high-tech agriculture.

Vinh City develops to the right level as the center of the North Central region, becoming a regional growth center, with the ability to converge and spread strong development.

PV:During his visit and work in Nghe An at the end of October 2017, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong advised: "The Party Committee and people of Nghe An province must have the aspiration to rise even stronger." So how should our province express that aspiration, Mr. Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee?

Comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh:Throughout historical periods, Nghe An has been a land of the Fatherland's fence, always brave, steadfast, indomitable, taking the lead, completing well its tasks in the resistance war. Entering peacetime, our province strives to become a pioneer in socio-economic development.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong advised: "The Party Committee and people of Nghe An province must have the aspiration to rise even stronger" referring to the responsibility of each Nghe An person in the process of construction and development.

A 63,000-ton foreign ship arrives to pick up cargo at Vissai Wharf. Photo courtesy.

To do so, each of us must abandon the subsidy mindset, the mindset of waiting and relying, and find a way to promote initiative, dynamism and creativity regardless of job position, aiming for the benefit of the collective and locality, and eliminating narrow-minded personal thoughts and interests that hinder development.

Each cadre, civil servant, public employee, and citizen must affirm their high determination, proactive spirit, and correct perception and approach to their responsibilities in the development of the province, thereby doing their job better. Cadres and party members must be pioneers and exemplary role models.

PV:So, what are the key directions of the Standing Committee and the Provincial Party Committee in 2018, comrade?

Comrade Nguyen Dac Vinh:2018 is the transition year between the 2015 - 2020 term, so the general spirit is that the entire political system must be highly determined, strive to overcome difficulties to effectively exploit potentials and advantages; continue to have breakthrough solutions to build our province to develop quickly and sustainably.

Accordingly, the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee agreed with the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council to set a growth target of 8.5-9%. This is a higher target than in 2017 and in the current context it is not simple, but we must set high requirements for ourselves to strive to achieve it.

The Provincial Party Standing Committee also requested to continue to focus on stronger administrative reforms in terms of apparatus, procedures, working methods, especially human resources.

The requirement is that each cadre, party member, civil servant and public employee must have the spirit, responsibility, attitude and standard working style to build a truly service-oriented administration.

PV:Thank you very much, Provincial Party Secretary!

Thanh Duy