Kien Giang urged to promote external relations

VGP - Deputy PM and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh has asked the southern province of Kien Giang to boost external relations, including those with Cambodian provinces along the shared border and ASEAN member countries.

April 15, 2015 3:56 PM GMT+7

Photo: VGP

Deputy PM Minh made the statement during a meeting with Kien Giang province’s leaders on local socio-economic development, external affairs and border demarcation on April 15.

He reminded the leaders of improving the quality of training for the neighboring provinces and asked the province to devise a plan on building a national entryway at the Ha Tien International Border Gate, which would be evaluated by the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance before being reported to PM Nguyen Tan Dung.

Regarding the extension of the Ha Tien International Border Gate’s opening hours to 22:00 to facilitate daily import and export activities, Minh requested the province to reach an agreement in writing with Kampot province’s authority and report it to both Governments for a final decision.

The Government official gave directions on the public-private partnership project on supplying safe water for Phu Quoc island with a total VND1.8 trillion (US$85 million) investment funded from the Japanese Government’s official development assistance. Accordingly, non-profit components for agricultural production will receive sponsored funds while profitable facilities will be built in a re-lending mechanism.

Minh also assigned relevant agencies to study and suggest raised allowances for demarcation officers, then report to the PM for a final decision.

According to Kien Giang province’s report, the local gross domestic product reached over VND66 trillion (US$3 billion) in 2014, a 9.51% year-on-year rise; an average income per capita was around VND47 million per year; and the ratio of poor households was 3.58%.

The province welcomed nearly 600,000 visitors, a 40% year-on-year increase, thanks to the PM’s decision on visa exemption for a 30-day stay on Phu Quoc island to foreigners and Vietnamese bearing foreign passports.

The province’s construction of new-style rural areas, administrative reforms and investment attraction have seen positive results while external relations have been enhanced.

By Vien Nhu