Building and forming a new, substantial and practical development momentum for Nghe An

At the scientific workshop “Socio-economic development and national defense and security assurance of Nghe An province to 2030, vision to 2045” held on the morning of December 20 in Hanoi, comrade Nguyen Xuan Thang - Politburo member, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council, Director of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics delivered an important speech with profound content. Nghe An Newspaper published an excerpt of the speech.

Overview of the workshop. Photo: Thanh Duy

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Nghe An is a land of “spiritual land and talented people”, rich in cultural and historical traditions, a famous land of courageous and resilient revolutionary movements, associated with the golden pages of history of the Party and the Vietnamese people. Nghe An is the homeland of the great President Ho Chi Minh, the birthplace of talented people, national heroes, and loyal soldiers of the Party and the revolution who have made great contributions to the country.

During the renovation period, inheriting good traditions, promoting great potentials and advantages for development, especially the geostrategic position, the Party Committee, government and people of Nghe An province have strived, overcome many difficulties, constantly strived in all aspects, and achieved many proud achievements. Appreciating the role and importance of the province, the Central Government has had major policies to promote Nghe An to develop strongly, worthy of the role and position of the province in the period of renovation, integration and development of the country. In particular, on July 30, 2013, the 11th Politburo issued Resolution No. 26-NQ/TW on "Orientations and tasks for the development of Nghe An province to 2020" with the goal of striving to build Nghe An into a fairly developed province in the Northern region by 2015 and basically become an industrial province by 2020.

Comrade Nguyen Xuan Thang - Politburo member, Director of Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, Chairman of the Central Theoretical Council delivered a speech at the workshop. Photo: Thanh Duy

Today, the Central Economic Commission, the Central Theoretical Council and Nghe An Provincial Party Committee jointly organized a scientific workshop: Socio-economic development and ensuring national defense and security of Nghe An province to 2030, with a vision to 2045, to review 10 years of implementing Resolution No. 26, propose policies, orientations and solutions for rapid and sustainable development of Nghe An, striving to become a fairly developed province in the Northern region by 2025, and by 2030, to become a fairly developed province of the whole country, determine the development vision to 2045, successfully implement the Resolution of the 19th Provincial Party Congress, contributing to the successful implementation of the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress.

… Looking back over the past 10 years, the implementation of Resolution 26-NQ/TW took place in the context of a rapidly changing, complex, risky and unpredictable situation in the world and in the country. The prolonged impacts of the global financial crisis and economic recession of 2008-2009, domestic macroeconomic instability in the period of 2007-2012, the environmental incident in the central coastal region, the serious consequences of the 2-year outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and recently, the conflict in Ukraine have significantly affected the implementation of socio-economic development tasks of the country in general and Nghe An province in particular.

National Assembly leaders attending the workshop. Photo: Thanh Duy

However, with the attention, direction, support and assistance of the Central Government, promoting the spirit of solidarity, striving, overcoming difficulties, constantly searching and choosing new, correct, certain and creative ways of doing things, Nghe An province has achieved quite comprehensive and important development achievements, with many outstanding highlights. Specifically:

1. The province's socio-economic development is quite rapid and comprehensive. In 2021, the GRDP scale is 2.13 times higher than in 2013 (ranked 2nd in the North Central and Central Coast regions, ranked 12th in the country). The economy maintains a higher growth rate than the national average, the structure shifts in a positive direction, gradually reducing the proportion of agriculture, increasing the proportion of industry and services.

2. Some areas such as: Health, education and training, science and technology have made remarkable progress, gradually shaping the center of the North Central key economic region. The economic and social infrastructure system has been invested and upgraded, with many important projects. The urban appearance is increasingly renewed and modern; new rural construction has many good and creative ways, which is one of the bright spots of the whole country. The work of hunger eradication and poverty reduction in multidimensional and sustainable ways has achieved positive results. Cultural and social development has made much progress, the material and spiritual life of the people has been significantly improved.

Leaders of Nghe An province attended the conference. Photo: Thanh Duy

3. National defense and security are firmly ensured; social order and safety are maintained. The political system has many innovations, operating effectively and efficiently; the role, leadership capacity and fighting strength of Party committees and organizations at all levels, and the management and operation capacity of governments at all levels are enhanced; the spirit of solidarity and unity is promoted, creating consensus and firm trust among the people.

These are very proud achievements, a solid foundation, opening up many opportunities, creating momentum for the province to develop more quickly and sustainably in the coming time. However, it is necessary to look directly at the reality of the difficulties, limitations, shortcomings, and things that have not been done in the development process of the province over the past years. The goal of building Nghe An into a fairly developed province in the Northern region by 2015 and basically becoming an industrial province by 2020 has not been achieved. Nghe An has not yet clearly affirmed its role as the center of the North Central region in terms of trade, tourism, culture, sports, finance, and high-tech industry according to the orientation of Resolution No. 26.

The results that Nghe An has achieved in many fields, although very valuable, are only the beginning, still very modest, still low compared to many provinces with the same starting point. The province is still facing many bottlenecks, bottlenecks, many problems, and has not yet had good, effective solutions to remove them in the development process.

Leaders of Nghe An province attended the conference. Photo: Thanh Duy

Today's workshop is an opportunity for us to analyze and evaluate seriously, thoroughly, and objectively, pointing out the root and specific causes, not only of the results that have been achieved but more importantly, of the things that have not been done, drawing lessons, finding breakthrough solutions to solve difficulties, remove obstacles, thereby proposing orientations, key tasks and breakthrough development strategies of the province in the new period.

I would like to ask, is it true that “Nghe An is ahead and behind” - a saying that has become true, is a reality that is happening and we tacitly accept it? A province that “takes the lead, rises first” in the revolutionary movement, the homeland of the Nghe Tinh Soviet, but since the Renovation until now, it has always been in the top of the provinces that have to receive budget transfers from the Central Government and after many years of struggle, the average GRDP per capita has only reached 2/3 of the national average. A province with abundant labor resources, education is affirmed to be at the top of the country with a tradition of studiousness, has many large universities and colleges, but is still struggling with the problem of developing high-tech industries, not really clear about transforming the growth model, restructuring the province's economy, contributing to promoting industrialization and modernization on the basis of scientific and technological progress and innovation. A province that enjoys special mechanisms, has abundant resources, and high-quality human resources, but still cannot attract many strategic investors.

Nghe An has had new agricultural models very early, but so far it has not been able to become a strong agricultural province and get rich from agriculture. Thanks to the natural advantages of many beautiful and interesting landscapes, "green mountains and blue water like a picture", Nghe An has developed tourism very early, but so far it has not been able to become a province with a strong tourism brand. Someone said, Cua Lo beach is beautiful, the tea hills in Thanh Chuong are very charming, Pu Mat forest is extremely rare, Ky Son mountain is majestic, ... but people are still absorbed in admiring the natural landscape somewhere far away, few people come to Nghe An ... Cua Lo port was built quite early, with quite good advantages compared to other ports in the region, but it has not been able to compete effectively in the new mechanism, even when the volume of goods loaded and unloaded through seaports in the Central region has increased very rapidly. Those are just a few examples of many paradoxes of development that we can point out in reality.

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”. Nowadays, perhaps we should re-ask the question: Why are the people of Nghe An intelligent, good at studying, hard-working, and diligent, 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 will escape that paradox is still a question and an obsession for many years and many terms for all of us.

Leaders of Nghe An province attended the conference. Photo: Thanh Duy

… It is time for Nghe An to look back and objectively evaluate the potential, strengths and real capacity of the province, to build and form a new, substantial and realistic development momentum. In my opinion, on the following 4 aspects:

1. New development thinking

It is necessary to correctly position Nghe An in the development of the region and the country, re-identify the advantages and especially the disadvantages of the province from the perspective of modern development, especially in the breakthroughs in institutions, human resources and infrastructure in the context of promoting regional connectivity, international integration, digital transformation and the impact of the fourth industrial revolution, thereby effectively promoting the potentials, advantages and, more importantly, resolving the difficulties, shortcomings and bottlenecks in the development of the province. Nghe An needs to choose a new development approach, of course, with a focus, key points, a long-term roadmap in line with the general trend, sustainable, inclusive but always with the spirit of "taking the lead, rising first", "breakthrough development", "breakthrough, acceleration" in the process of comprehensively promoting and synchronously implementing the innovation process.

Nghe An needs to build a new, longer-term development vision; reorganize the development space and perfect the new development plan; clearly define the goals, roadmap and methods, key tasks, and breakthroughs in development through each milestone of 10 years, 20 years and 30 years, in the context of many fluctuations in the world and continued changes in the country. That vision must be determined in the direction of promoting common efforts, creating new motivation for Nghe An to break through to become the driving force, the leading locomotive, and the spread of the North Central region, in line with the aspiration to develop a prosperous, powerful and happy country.

Nghe An needs to be determined to turn the aspiration for the "Miracle of the Lam River" into not just a propaganda slogan but truly a development action program, meeting the urgent demands of changing thinking, changing the current situation with a spirit of determination, perseverance, closely following and successfully implementing all set goals and tasks, based on the foundation of promoting the people's strength, the spirit of solidarity, unity, innovation, daring to think, daring to do for the first interests of the province and the country.

2. New development space

Although Nghe An is far from the country's major and dynamic growth centers and poles, it is the connecting point of the North-South development route, the East-West corridor, connecting with Laos and the Mekong Sub-region. Although the Western Nghe An region is a remote, difficult, mountainous area with limited investment attractiveness at present, it is a potential area for new development calculations. Nghe An needs "pushes" to promote its advantages to create new development space. Of course, this must start with infrastructure development to overcome geographical disadvantages, become a center or increase connectivity with other centers of the North Central region and the Central Coast, creating a complete transportation system, railways, North-South and East-West expressways, waterways, domestic and international airways.

The Draft Summary Report on 10 years of implementing Resolution 26 and the Draft Planning of Nghe An province for the period 2021 - 2030, with a vision to 2050, have provided orientations on key development spaces, including: 2 growth driving areas: Vinh city expansion and Southeast Economic Zone expansion; 4 economic corridors: Eastern coastal economic corridor, Ho Chi Minh road economic corridor, National Highway 7 economic corridor, National Highway 48A economic corridor; 6 urban centers: Vinh city expansion, Hoang Mai city (developed in association with Quynh Luu), Thai Hoa city (developed in association with Nghia Dan), Dien Chau town, Do Luong town, Con Cuong ecological urban area. In addition to promoting intra-provincial connectivity, it is necessary to strengthen regional connectivity along the Nam Thanh - Bac Nghe, Nam Nghe - Bac Ha axis and connect with Laos through border gates. These will be priority orientations to open up a new development space, accordingly arranging production sectors according to interconnected "industry - region", "corridor - chain", "urban - industrial - service" complexes, which are very typical and creative of Nghe An, suitable to the new practical conditions of the province.

3. New development resources

Converging elements like a “miniature Vietnam” as many people often say, Nghe An has a lot of potential and huge natural resources for development. Like many other localities, Nghe An is still developing based on exploiting natural resources, mainly land, but is gradually reaching its limit. Right now, we have to ask ourselves: Can we continue to rely on exploiting these resources in the coming period? But one thing is certain, in order to develop quickly and sustainably, Nghe An will have to rely on exploiting more effectively the factors of institutions, people and science and technology. The last important thing is total factor productivity.

I would like to emphasize that having “special” mechanisms is only an initial effort, necessary for localities to make a breakthrough in attracting, mobilizing and allocating resources more appropriately and effectively in the development process. However, in essence, allowing localities to have “special” mechanisms is still a “request - grant” of mechanisms and if the old approach is continued, the effectiveness will be very limited. The important thing is to turn “special” mechanisms into “superior” mechanisms, first of all in building the local institutional and governance environment - that is, creating differences and advantages by reaching a higher “level” of development.

As the fourth most populous province in the country, Nghe An has the advantage of scale but is not really a "good land for birds to nest". It is necessary to overcome the situation of "open province, tight department", "spreading carpet above, spreading nails below" in attracting investment capital that has existed for a long time. Although we have improved a lot, many businesses still have difficulties in exchanging. If the provincial leaders have great determination but the apparatus below does not change, still harasses, is bureaucratic, and lacks capacity, then the determination of the leaders at higher levels cannot be realized.

Local authorities need to work with businesses, especially in discussing methods of organizing production, business, building infrastructure, and creating an attractive business environment to attract investment. New thinking needs to be accompanied by new and synchronous ways of doing things so that "top and bottom are in agreement", "everywhere is smooth", with the motto: "Central government opens the way, Local government promotes, Enterprises accompany, People participate" to build a truly favorable environment for development.

In terms of institutions, technology and people, people play the most decisive role in the development process. For Nghe An, this is even more important. Nghe An needs to implement the policy of "Rolling out the red carpet to invite talents" more consistently, substantially and effectively. Turn Nghe An, with its tradition of learning land, the birthplace of many cultural celebrities, loyal revolutionary soldiers, into a land of famous businessmen, strategic investors, and creative entrepreneurial spirit. Turn the strength and spirit of hard work, overcoming difficulties, creativity, courage, intelligence, learning and knowledge of Nghe people, the cultural values ​​and strength of Nghe people into aspirations for development, the will to get rich, and build the homeland and country to become more and more prosperous and happy.

4. New development areas

In fact, over the past two decades, Nghe An's GRDP per capita has always been only 2/3 of the national average, showing an existing risk that Nghe An could fall into the "middle-income province trap". Therefore, finding new areas of development to help Nghe An break through and rise up has become an urgent and objective practical requirement in the new period.

The Draft Planning of Nghe An Province has identified 5 key areas for the province's development, including: (i) industrial development, focusing on processing, manufacturing, and supporting industries; (ii) development of trade, services, education and training, and high-quality healthcare; (iii) tourism development based on 3 focuses: Cultural - historical, spiritual tourism; resort tourism, entertainment and sea sports; eco-tourism, community-based experiential tourism; (iv) development of high-tech agriculture; (v) development of the marine economy associated with ensuring national defense and security. In which, industry is the breakthrough driving force, modern trade and services are the spearhead, and clean agriculture is the foundation.

However, it is necessary to clearly identify the distinct advantages in the region and compared to the whole country of each field. Is it that Nghe An has the conditions and determination to shift from capital- and resource-intensive production activities to smart production activities, based on innovation, green economic development, circular economy, digital economy, and diversification of supply chains? The province needs to focus on attracting large, strategic projects that have spillover effects, creating a push to help change the situation to bring about development breakthroughs in key areas; overcoming the dispersion of resources and the lack of feasibility of many development projects in the past terms.

In the medium and long term, Nghe An needs a strategy that harmoniously combines diversification and specialization in manufacturing industries. Diversification to create inclusive growth, create jobs and income for low-skilled workers, and promote development in the Western region, which is still facing many difficulties. Specialization to focus resources on building Vinh city into an expanded smart city, a center of the North Central region in the fields of education - training, science - technology, trade, tourism, health, gradually becoming one of the growth poles of the North Central region and the Central Coast.

… In order for Nghe An's new development capacity to be formed based on a comprehensive structure, at this workshop, I also propose that delegates and scientists discuss and propose many new solutions to promote foreign affairs, ensure national defense and security, strengthen Party building and the political system, because these are prerequisites for Nghe An to break through and move forward; and in the system of solutions, it is very necessary to propose breakthrough solutions on: Combining socio-economic development with ensuring national defense and security; resolutely fighting against all types of crimes and social evils, maintaining security, order and social safety early, from afar, from the grassroots, not allowing "hot spots" to arise; building a national defense posture associated with a people's security posture, a national border posture, a posture of people's hearts and firmly consolidating the provincial and district defense areas; enhancing the overall strength of the provincial armed forces; Proactively and promptly grasp the situation, thoughts and aspirations of religions and religious followers to promptly resolve legitimate and legal needs, but at the same time resolutely prevent manifestations and signs of taking advantage of religion to sabotage the common development of the province.

In particular, this is an extremely important content that needs to be thoroughly understood: The close leadership of the Provincial Party Committee and the solidarity, unanimity and support of the people are the decisive factors for the success of the cause of building and developing Nghe An, thereby better recognizing the requirement to improve the leadership capacity, governing capacity and fighting strength of the Nghe An Party Committee; building a truly clean and strong political system of the province; consolidating and enhancing people's trust; strongly and widely spreading the message of a united and creative Nghe An, with higher determination, greater efforts, and more drastic actions to break through in development in the new period...