Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung asked Thai Nguyen Province leaders to support businesses to promote and export their products during his visit to the province January 14.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung at the working session with Thai Nguyen's leaders

After speaking with the head of Thai Nguyen Province, the Prime Minister highly appreciated the hard work by the Party Committee, authorities and citizens to overcome difficulties and succeed in all areas in 2008, including the posting of a GDP growth rate of 11.4 percent, a 66.3 percent increase in exports and 4.5 percent increase in agricultural output.
 
The PM said Thai Nguyen Province is a major industrial center with many companies operating in various fields such as mining, metallurgy, mechanics, construction materials and supporting industries.

Currently this success has been hampered by the current economic crisis. Province leaders should focus its efforts on creating good business conditions, supporting businesses to maintain production levels, generating sales, providing jobs for local workers and ensuring social security, as well as following government policies on taxes and capital.

The province needs to mobilize human and financial resources to develop in the long term. In addition, the province needs to improve the investment environment and strengthen training. It needs to carry out administrative reforms and continue to fight corruption and waste to attract a range of economic sectors that contribute to local industrial development and a restructuring of industry, he added.

Regarding the province’s targets for 2009, the Prime Minister asked the province to follow the government’s resolution about measures aimed at preventing economic decline, retain growth, and ensuring social security. It needs to effectively disburse capital that State has given to the province, clear the ground for the Hanoi -Thai Nguyen road, build a better Thai Nguyen and cooperate with Minister and locals.

Thai Nguyen should invest in infrastructure and establish industrial zones in combination with developing its urban centers, as well as investigate measures to restructure the rural economy, he said.

The Province also needs to provide measures to promote exports and products, strengthen market checks, prevent speculation, look after the people’s well-being and implement effective government policies.

The Thai Nguyen Party Committee Secretary, Ngo Van Vuong, said this year, his province is aiming to post a GDP growth rate of at least 11 percent, achieve a per capita income of more than VND14 million ($800), reduce the number of poor households by 2.5 percent and create jobs for 16,000 local residents.