Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (right) at a working session with the Standing Board of the Lam Dong province's Party Committee (Photo: VNA)

Lam Dong - Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has asked the Central Highlands of Lam Dong to focus on implementing three breakthrough measures to boost its rapid and sustainable growth, including developing science and technology, innovation and startups, promoting the application of achievements of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, especially in the service and agriculture.

The Government leader had a working session with the Standing Board of the provincial Party Committee on August 25.

PM Chinh said that along with effectively implementing the three breakthroughs set by the 13th National Party Congress, Lam Dong should pay greater attention to promoting digital, green, circular, knowledge-based, sharing and night-time economy, as well as climate change response, developing cultural and entertainment industries.

Alongside, the province should build mechanisms and policies to mobilise all social resources for rapid and sustainable development, especially for expanding the infrastructure system serving transport, healthcare, education and culture promotion, he said.

The PM hailed the province's performance over the years.

Last year, Lam Dong completed 14 out of 18 socio-economic targets set for the year, with a GDP growth rate of 5.63% and a GDP scale of 116 trillion VND (4.64 billion USD), ranking 45th among 63 localities in the country.

Its per capita GDP reached 86 million VND, the highest among regional localities. Lam Dong's State budget collection hit over 13 trillion VND in 2023 and nearly 7.9 trillion VND in the first seven months of this year. The rate of poverty according to multidimensional standards has been reduced to 3.16%.

The province welcomed 8.65 million visitors in 2023 and 940,000 tourists in the first seven months of 2024. Lam Dong is a leading locality in high-tech agriculture.

PM Chinh stressed that Lam Dong has an important strategic position in terms of economy, society, security, and defence. It is a centre for trade, a connecting point of the three regions of the Central Highlands, the Southeast, and the Central Coastal regions, bordering seven provinces and connecting with major domestic and international cities by air.

Lam Dong also owns many valuable cultural heritages of 47 ethnic groups, and abundant workforce, he noted.

However, he held that the province's growth has yet to match its great potential.

He asked Lam Dong to optimise resources in human, cultural values, history and tradition, taking the people as the centre of socio-economic development, while strengthening regional connections and forming supply chains.

The locality should continue improving its investment and business environment, mobilising all resources for development, restructuring its agricultural sector, boosting the forestry sector's growth, developing manufacturing-processing sector, and turning tourism into a spearhead economic sector, he underlined.

The PM reminded Lam Dong to focus on maintaining the cultural identity of local ethnic minority groups, ensuring security, order, environmental protection, and responding to climate change.

Chinh also asked Lam Dong to pay greater attention to building the Party and the political system and combat corruption, and making good preparations for the organisation of the all-level Party congresses.

Earlier the same day, PM Chinh witnessed organisations and businesses donating 41 billion VND to the programme to build and repair houses for the needy in Lam Dong.

PM Chinh, who is also Chairman of the National Council for Emulation and Commendation, said that the council launched the movement of “the whole country joins hands to ensure no one has to live in temporary and downgraded houses” on April 13, 2024 with an aim to make sure that everyone enjoys stable houses by the end of 2025.

Lam Dong needs about 107 billion VND to build and repair houses for 1,970 poor households.

Also on August 25, PM Chinh and his entourage visited Heroic Vietnamese Mother Tran Thi Nhung in Ward 9 of Da Lat city.

He requested local authorities to continue to care for the material and spiritual life of policy beneficiary families and people who rendered services to the nation, ensuring that their living conditions are at least equal to those in their neighborhood.