Ninh Binh province has steadfastly carried out the “dual goal” of preventing the epidemic and developing the economy to achieve the highest goals and tasks set for 2021 with the steely determination of the entire political system, and sped up the formulation of the Ninh Binh Plan for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, which will be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval in June 2022, said Mr. Pham Quang Ngoc, Chairman of Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee, in an interview granted to Vietnam Business Forum’s reporters. Ha Thanh reports.

Mr. Pham Quang Ngoc, Chairman of Ninh Binh Provincial People's Committee

In recent years, Ninh Binh province’s rapid socioeconomic development has produced positive results but its Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) has lagged behind. What solutions will Ninh Binh province take to upgrade its PCI standing?

In recent years, the Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People’s Council and the Provincial People's Committee always seriously directed relevant bodies to improve the business investment environment and enhance provincial competitiveness. Every year, the Provincial People's Committee releases plans, assigns departments, agencies, localities and units to perform their specifically assigned tasks on reforming and simplifying administrative procedures, supporting and accompanying businesses, collecting taxes, attracting investment and bettering the business environment. However, the province's PCI Index is still volatile and inclined to the downside.

The Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People’s Council and the Provincial People’s Committee have firmly directed all levels and branches to seriously, honestly and responsibly self-review, clearly identify shortcomings, weaknesses and reasons for PCI declines. At the same time, the authorities held business conferences to grasp the thoughts, aspirations and plans of enterprises, which drew active response from the business community and entrepreneurs. Since then, the province has promptly responded and taken solutions to remove difficulties for them, especially in the current context of complicated development of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, the province worked out detailed plans and executed the following solutions for a better business and investment climate and higher PCI rankings in 2021, which are expected to stand among the Top 20 provinces and cities by 2025:

- Reviewing, amending, building and announcing mechanisms and policies to create a favorable and transparent business environment; ensuring the principle of fairness and equality for all people and businesses; harmoniously balancing the interests of all stakeholders.

- Upholding the sense of responsibility, demonstrating sheer determination and drastic actions in accelerating administrative reforms, especially administrative procedures; solving problems for businesses; assigning specific responsibility to each individual, using the PCI performance to gauge work performance; resolutely handling public employees and officials breaching discipline; arranging competent and responsible civil servants to guide people and businesses when they receive and settle administrative procedures.

- Stepping up reforms to have substantive, public and transparent administrative procedures; reviewing, abolishing or amending and supplementing administrative procedures according to their competence or submitting them to competent authorities for consideration and amendment to reduce the time for settling administrative procedures; fostering information technology application, building e-government and digital transformation; regularly informing, guiding and encouraging people and businesses to use online public services of Level 3 and Level 4 on the National Public Service Portal and the Provincial Public Service Portal.

- Strengthening the education of political ideologies and ethics in the performance of official duties for civil servants; informing and raising public and business awareness of the PCI Index.

- Releasing criteria for assessing the District and Department Competitiveness Index (DDCI), starting in 2021; strengthening dialogues with the masses and businesses to promptly grasp and solve their problems.

Could you please tell us the outstanding socioeconomic development results in the first six months of 2021 and breakthrough plans for the remaining months of the year to successfully realize the “dual goals” of actively fighting the COVID-19 epidemic and boosting socioeconomic development?

2021 is of special significance, the first year to execute the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress, the Resolution of the 22nd Provincial Party Congress (2020-2025 term) and the 5-year Socioeconomic Development Plan. Upholding its achievements, with its willpower and aspirations, the Executive Board of the Provincial Party Committee defined the working theme for 2021 as “Discipline, responsibility and accelerated administrative reform”. The Provincial Party Committee, the Provincial People’s Council and the Provincial People’s Committee further reformed administration methods and drastically carried out tasks from the beginning of the year to absolutely resolve all existing problems. The Provincial People's Committee organized many symposiums to listen to and give opinions on major and important contents, plans and orientations of each branch, field, and locality. Authorities focused on definitively solving problems, and steadfastly implemented the "dual goals" of both fighting against the epidemic and boosting economic development to achieve the highest goals and tasks set for 2021.

The province achieved many outstanding results in socioeconomic development in the first six months of 2021. Specifically, Ninh Binh had no infections in the community; and successfully organized parliamentarian elections to the 15th National Assembly and the People's Councils of all levels for the 2021-2026 term, with the highest voter turnout rate in history, reaching 99.57%.

The gross regional domestic product (GRDP) was estimated at VND20,996.5 billion in the period, up 7.18% year on year, ranking sixth in the Red River Delta and 19th out of 63 provinces and cities. State budget revenue grossed VND10,650.5 billion from January to June, fulfilling 57.2% of the plan and rising 21.6% from a year earlier. Social and cultural progress continued to be accelerated; social security was ensured; and people's material and spiritual life was further raised. Performance of all levels of authorities was innovative and effective.

With great determination and efforts, Ninh Binh province did not revise its goals, targeting for a GRDP growth of 8.0% in 2021 and fulfilling all social and economic goals in 2021. In the last six months of the year, the locality will drastically focus and implement the following key tasks:

- Effectively carrying out the "dual goals" of preventing the epidemic to protect people’s health and boosting economic recovery and growth; paying special attention to medical quarantine; deploying vaccinations as planned, seeking vaccines for local people; accelerating administrative reform, especially administrative procedure reform, improving the quality of public service performance, building e-government government towards digital government.

- Effectively accelerating economic restructuring and changing growth model; applying environmentally-friendly advanced technology to industrial development; stepping up agricultural restructuring to boost clean agriculture, organic agriculture, high-tech agriculture, develop agricultural processing industry and build advanced rural development models; developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector while conserving and upholding heritage values.

- Applying solutions to ensure social security, protect and care for people's health; comprehensively and synchronously facilitating cultural and social progress and sustainable poverty reduction; promoting historical and cultural values in line with environmental protection.

- Formulating the Ninh Binh Plan in 2020-2030, with a vision to 2050; promptly removing difficulties in production and business development, improving the investment climate and raising the Provincial Competitiveness Index, completing investment procedures for projects in the province, especially key ones, creating development momentum for the new term; investing in building regional and inter-regional infrastructure connectivity to create space and driving force for socioeconomic development to draw investors into the province.

Would you mind describing the fundamental contents of the Ninh Binh Plan in 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050?

Enforcing the Law on Planning 21/2017/QH14, Ninh Binh province had the task for formulating the Plan approved by the Prime Minister in Decision 1413/QD-TTg dated September 15, 2020. With determination, the province has to date completed assessing the current context and worked out planning ideas. The province expects to have the Plan completed by the end of 2021 and submitted to the Prime Minister for approval in June 2022.

Then, the Ninh Binh Plan for 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, closely follows the Resolution of the 22nd Provincial Party Congress (2020-2025 term), with the goal of “Making Ninh Binh rapidly and sustainably developed province, a relatively developed province of the Red River Delta”. By inspiring the self-respect, willpower and aspiration to grow up from local cultural and historical values and identity, the province aims to become a tourism service center of the Red River Delta and of the country; develop a modern industry and agriculture, driven by advanced technology; cooperate with Hanoi and northern coastal localities to develop an urban system and build an enhanced new rural development model with synchronous and modern infrastructure; and comprehensively develop cultural and social fields. With a vision to 2050, Ninh Binh will have developed tourism, modern industry and smart agriculture, with rapid and sustainable development driven by cutting-edge science, technology and innovations. The province will be a major national and international tourism center, a good place to live and a desirable destination for travelers far and wide, and an important development hub of the growth triangle formed by Hanoi, Hai Phong - Quang Ninh and Ninh Binh - Thanh Hoa.

Thank you very much!