Prime Minister: Making Vietnam the world's leading center for wood production and export

The launching ceremony was held in Thuong Phuc village, Bac Hong commune, Dong Anh district, Hanoi. Also attending were Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Hoang Trung Hai, Chairman of the City People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung and leaders of several ministries, branches and many local people.

Dong Anh district is known for “Uncle Ho’s banyan tree”, the second banyan tree that Uncle Ho planted after launching the Tree Planting Festival. The banyan tree that Uncle Ho planted during the first Tree Planting Festival was at Bay Mau Park, later Thong Nhat Park.

The Prime Minister reiterated Uncle Ho's teaching: "Spring is the season for tree planting/Making the country more and more springy" and said that this year, we celebrate the 50th anniversary of implementing President Ho's will, so the tree planting campaign has become a nationwide movement.

"We all want to bring a green, clean, beautiful living environment to people in all regions of the country and strictly implement the policy of not trading the economy for the environment. We are even more deeply imbued with Uncle Ho's teachings, making every effort to fulfill his will. The Government is working with localities across the country to actively plant forests, develop and protect forests, striving to achieve the target of forest coverage by 2020 of at least 42%, making Vietnam a leading center for exporting branded and prestigious planted forest timber in the world, and especially with increasingly high coverage" - the Prime Minister emphasized...

To contribute practically to the nationwide response to the Tree Planting Festival to forever remember Uncle Ho, launched by the Party and the State, the Prime Minister requested ministries and branches to launch the emulation movement to implement the "Tree Planting Festival" right from the first days of 2019. Develop a specific and practical action plan on afforestation, forest protection and scattered tree planting to green the roads, green houses, cover bare land and hills to create a green landscape and environment.

In addition, we will promote the attraction of all types of investment resources in afforestation, strongly innovate science and technology in afforestation, forest management, and biodiversity conservation. We are determined to make Vietnam the world's leading center in the production and export of wood and products from planted forests in the next 10 years.

Organize well the work of forest management, protection, forest fire prevention and fighting; strictly control the change of forest use purposes, strictly implement Directive No. 13/2017 of the Secretariat on strengthening the Party's leadership in forest management, protection and development. Implement well the Forestry Law 2017; resolutely close natural forests and do not use illegal timber. Strictly handle violations.