Over the years, the Party Organisation, Authority, armed forces and people of Yen Bai province have grasped and implemented resolutions by party committees at all levels, with a focus on achieving three strategic breakthroughs and fulfilling the targets of socio-economic development and defence-security consolidation. That has added an incentive to the province’s rapid, sustainable development.

Comrade Tran Quoc Vuong, Standing Member of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat presenting the province of Yen Bai with the First-Class Independence Order

Under the motto of “renewal, creativity, acceleration, discipline and effectiveness,” in the 2015-2020 tenure, the province of Yen Bai has exercised leadership over socio-economic and cultural development, national defence, security, and diplomacy and obtained many remarkable achievements. It is worth noting that the province has completed the Master Plan for socio-economic development in the period of 2011-2020, with orientation towards 2030, developed, adjusted and supplemented development plans for provincial-level sectors and products in the period of 2016-2020, with a vision towards 2030, issued sufficient mechanisms and policies in accordance with local conditions, and focused on dealing with difficulties in socio-economic development. Agriculture has been restructured to increase its value in line with the sustainable construction of new-style countryside. Emphasis has been placed on developing rural economy, ensuring food security, reducing poverty sustainably, enhancing the value of key products, renewing modes of agricultural production, rural economy, food processing and product consumption, establishing large-scale intensive production zones within the “One Commune, One Product” Programme (OCOP), and tapping all resources to build infrastructure and execute the national target programme for new-style rural area construction to become a typical example of the Northwest.

Additionally, the province has restructured and developed environmentally-friendly industries sustainably, increased the share of processing and manufacturing industries, decreased the share of mining industry, completed technical infrastructure, raised the rate of filling gaps within its existing industrial zones and clusters, and established several new industrial clusters to attract investments from large corporations and businesses. To stimulate the growth of industries, the province has attached great value to developing an industry that would be involved in processing key products and use a lot of local labourers, encouraging a reform in technology and production procedures within cooperatives, craft villages and industry establishments, facilitating the development of trade and tourism services, and forming 4 key tourism zones to attract foreign and domestic visitors. As a result, there has been a positive change in the province’s economic structure. Industries and construction have accounted for 26.88% of the local economy (a 1.43% increase) while services have made up 47.21%. GRDP per capita in 2020 is estimated to reach over 42 million VND.

In addition to fostering socio-economic development, the province has focused on consolidating defence-security potential and posture. It has formulated and implemented the Projects on “national defence and security in the period of 2016-2020” and “building the military posture within provincial and district-level defensive zones.” In the past tenure, the province has step by step made investments in constructions within its combat base and rear base as well as many dual-purpose ones within its defensive zone. Due attention has been paid to building strong local armed forces and enhancing leadership over the operation of the defensive zone and the defence-security work. Consequently, the all-people national defence, the posture of all-people national defence associated with the posture of people’s security, and especially the “posture of people’s hearts and minds” have been increasingly solid while political security and social order and safety have been maintained.

Currently, Yen Bai has a lot of advantages but faces many difficulties in socio-economic development and defence-security consolidation. To facilitate rapid, sustainable development under the motto of “green, harmony, identity and happiness,” the province will continue encouraging renewal, creativity, will, and national great unity strength. More specifically, its average growth of GRDP in the period of 2021-2025 will reach 7.5% per annum. It will keep restructuring the economy. Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries will make up 22% of the local economy; industry and construction will be 30%; services will be 40%. It will achieve a yearly average increase of 6.2% in social productivity. It will also put efforts in maintaining national defence and security. To that end, it will adopt measures drastically on the basis of several major directions as follows.

First, facilitate rapid, sustainable economic development associated with environmental protection. Grounded on the guidelines and directions by our Party and State, the province will continue building and executing resolutions, projects, and mechanisms for socio-economic development, while creating strategic breakthroughs in this work. At the same time, it will review, adjust and supplement plans for socio-economic development, restructure its economy, and renew its growth model towards green, sustainable development. To do so, it will restructure its agriculture and rural economy in each area, with forestry acting as a breakthrough in improving the economic effectiveness and value. In the mountainous areas, priority will be given to ensuring locals’ income and social security, developing key products, and taking advantage of scenic spots and ethnic culture to foster tourism. In the nether areas, it will establish large-scale agricultural production zones according to a value chain for key products and specialities, raise the quality of products, protect intellectual property, promote trade, seek for produce markets, develop large-scale animal husbandry and aquaculture, apply advanced technologies to agriculture, ensure environmental hygiene, and prevent epidemics.

To transform industries into an incentive to its economic growth, the province will focus on assessing the effectiveness of its industrial zones and clusters to adjust plans for this sector properly, while constructing new industrial zones in accordance with each area’s particularities. It will take measures for attracting large-scale investment projects which use state-of-the-art and environmentally-friendly technologies, with priority given to the industries which are involved in processing its key products and use a lot of local labourers in order to step up the restructuring of its rural economy. The province will continue achieving the strategic breakthrough in building socio-economic infrastructure, mobilising and effectively tapping resources for the synchronous infrastructural development, especially for industrial zones and clusters, urban areas, information, telecommunications, and irrigation. Emphasis will be placed on building transportation infrastructure to establish a connection between the province’s regions. At the same time, the province will exploit its advantages gained from regional and inter-regional integration and partnership along the economic corridor of Kunning - Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh to develop transportation, logistics services, import, export, and technology. Besides, it will formulate a strategy for the comprehensive, sustainable, focalised development of tourism, bring into play its tourism potential, and develop a number of special tourism products, such as ecotourism, resort, travel adventure, and ethnic culture so as to turn Yen Bai into a top destination in the Northwest.

Second, raise the quality of social, cultural, and human development. Over the years, due regard has been paid to improving the quality of education and health, providing medical examination and treatment for locals, effectively preventing and combating the COVID-19. Promoting the recorded results, the province will continue rearranging the system of schools and classes, raising the effectiveness of training and education, making investments in high-quality and ethnic education, improving the quality of rural human resources and business management. Due attention will be paid to developing the health system in a modern, effective manner, combining traditional medicine with modern medicine, upgrading medical equipment for provincial and district-level hospitals, enhancing cooperation with central hospitals in technology transfer, renewing the management mechanism and implementing financial autonomy within health facilities to raise the effectiveness of protecting and taking care of locals’ health. At the same time, the province will preserve and bring into play cultural heritage and build a “friendly, compassionate, united, creative” image of the people of Yen Bai.

Third, ensure national defence and security as well as social order and safety. Grasping our Party and State’s viewpoints and strategies on the Homeland protection, the province will resolutely combine socio-economic development with defence-security consolidation. In the medium term, it will continue to implement the current projects on national defence and security, develop and promulgate new projects and plans, and accelerate the building of defence-security potential and posture and provincial and district-level defensive zones in accordance with local conditions. It will focus on making the standing force “revolutionary, regular, seasoned, gradually modern” and politically, ideologically, organisationally strong with a high level of synergy and combat readiness. It will build a “powerful” reserve force, a “strong, extensive” militia and self-defence force, and a comprehensively strong Public Security Force. Those forces will play a core role in the defence-security task, natural disaster and epidemic prevention and control, search and rescue. Great value will be attached to raising the quality of defence and security education, especially for key cadres at all levels, carrying out the mass mobilisation work, and implementing policies for the Army Rear as the basis for building a firm posture of “people’s hearts and minds” and the all-people national defence. Moreover, consideration will be given to improving the effectiveness of coordination between the Military and the Public Security in protecting national security, maintaining social order and safety, preventing and combating crime, and performing the national defence task under the Decree 03/2019/NĐ-CP, dated September 5^th, 2019 by the Government. The two forces will also enhance the fight against the hostile forces’ plots and acts of sabotage in order to ensure political security and build a disciplined, safe society.

Seizing new opportunities, the Party Organisation, Authority, armed forces and people of Yen Bai will further promote the tradition of unity, arouse the aspirations for rapid, sustainable socio-economic development associated with defence-security consolidation, and build a prosperous province in the Northern midland and mountainous region. 

DO DUC DUY

Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee

Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee