Attending were Mr. Nguyen Van Nen - Politburo member, Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee; leaders of ministries, and central committees and branches; leaders of the Party Committees of provinces and cities in the Southeast region; experts and scientists.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh shakes hands with leaders of Binh Duong province to attend the Conference
On the side of Binh Duong province, there were Mr. Nguyen Hoang Thao – Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Mr. Vo Van Minh - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; representatives of leaders of provincial departments, committees, and branches.
Facing challenges
As reported at the conference, the Southeast has a strong and dynamic private economic sector, with the number of enterprises leading the country (281,100 enterprises), accounting for 41% of enterprises in the country; attracting 5.4 million workers, accounting for 36.6% of the total number of workers working in the enterprises. This is also the area to attract the largest foreign direct investment (FDI), with about 23,000 FDI enterprises from nearly 100 countries and territories investing, accounting for 41.1% of the total FDI capital of the country, the investment field mainly focuses on the processing and manufacturing industry with over 5,300 projects, accounting for about 60% of the total FDI capital of the region.
In 2022 alone, the Southeast has more than 60,000 newly established enterprises, with a registered capital of nearly 646,000 billion VND; In the first 6 months of 2023, there were more than 31,500 newly established enterprises, with a registered capital of more than 287,000 billion VND.
Overview of the conference
Despite playing a very important role in the socio-economic development of the country, according to the assessment of the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the development of the Southeast region has been facing many challenges and has revealed many limitations such as The infrastructure network within the region and inter-region is still lacking and inconsistent, the development gap between localities in the region has not been shortened; regional linkages are still limited, not substantial and effective. Building a unified economic space is not effective, resources are scattered; economic interests of each locality are bound by administrative boundaries, even competing with each other, destroying the common advantage of the whole region. The problems of traffic congestion, environmental pollution, water pollution, and local flooding in Ho Chi Minh City, and some localities in the region have not been resolved.
Therefore, No. 24-NQ/TW dated October 07, 2022, of the Politburo on socio-economic development and assurance of national defense and security in the Southeast region to 2030, with a vision to 2045 clearly defined the need to reform the way of operation, coordination and linkage among localities in the region in order to narrow the gap in development levels between localities in the region, and at the same time to promote more effectively the synergy of the whole Southeast region.
According to Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, the development perspective of the Southeast region must be a dynamic development region, the center of economy, finance, trade, services, education and training, development of high-quality human resources, science-technology, innovation, and digital transformation leading the country and Southeast Asia, playing an important role in development linkages with other economic regions.
Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung speaks at the conference
Developing the region in a sustainable way, using efficiently and saving resources, in association with the protection of the ecological environment, and adapting to climate change and sea level rise. Renovating the growth model in association with restructuring the regional economy towards modernity, taking the digital economy, sharing economy, green economy, and circular economy as the focus and driving force for development. Prioritizing the development of high-tech industries and high-quality service industries. Maximizing the mobilization of internal resources for development, harmoniously combining with external resources for fast, sustainable development, self-reliance, and deep international integration.
Building the Southeast into a civilized, modern, and internationally integrated region. Improving the health, material, and spiritual life of the people, especially low-income people. Narrowing the gap in development level between localities in the region. Strongly promoting the tradition of revolutionary history, culture, and self-help for the self-improvement spirit of "the hard-working but heroic East" in regional construction and development.
Organizing the space for regional development in association with the development of a synchronous and gradually modernized infrastructure system and uniformly development of urban and rural areas. Focusing on building industrial, urban, service, and logistics belts associated with transport corridors.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh talks with delegates on the sidelines of the conference
Strengthening renewal of regional linkages on the basis of building effective and efficient regional linkage and coordination mechanisms, promoting linkages between localities in the region, between the Southeast region and other regions; creating a unified economic space, overcoming bottlenecks, effectively mobilizing and using resources, and enhancing regional competitiveness. Developing quickly, sustainably, and harmoniously among sub-regions and localities in the region.
Organizing the region's development space to link the land area with the marine space; effectively managing, exploiting, and using underground space. Focusing on connecting domestic economic corridors with regional and international economic corridors. The socioeconomic development of the region is associated with ensuring national defense and security, maintaining political security, social order and safety, and expanding foreign relations and international cooperation.
Solve the region's major problems
At the conference, leader representatives of ministries, branches and localities, experts presented many presentations related to issues such as: Solutions to coordinate and attract resources to build a synchronous and modern Southeast region's transport network; solutions to coordinate, build and develop large cities in the region into modern cities of regional stature; solutions to form and promote the development of start-up, innovation and artificial intelligence centers in Ho Chi Minh City, Binh Duong province, Dong Nai province; solutions to deal with environmental problems, inundation and adaptation to climate change, in which focusing on environmental protection solutions in the basins of the Dong Nai and Saigon river systems; planning Ho Chi Minh City as a regional center associated with the orientation of urban connectivity, infrastructure, promoting intra-regional and inter-regional linkages; proposing specific mechanisms and policies for the Southeast region to develop transport infrastructure, green cities, financial centers, etc.
Dr. Tran Du Lich - National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council proposes mechanisms and policies for the Southeast region
Speaking at the conclusion of the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh highly appreciated the profound, objective, responsible, and enthusiastic discussions of the ministries, branches, and localities. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested the Ministry of Planning and Investment - the Council's permanent body to synthesize and absorb to complete the plan to implement the Council's activities in the last 6 months of 2023 and the Council's programs and plans.
The Prime Minister emphasized that the Council needs to operate effectively, in essence, without formality, without administration, to create material wealth; focus on three strategic breakthroughs, and at the same time focus on handling three major issues in the coming years for the region: Traffic congestion, environmental problems, housing problems.
Regarding coordination, Council members should actively contribute ideas and promote the coordinating role of the Regional Council in the process of organizing and implementing the national planning. Localities soon complete the provincial planning. The Prime Minister stated that planning must have strategic thinking and long-term vision; must point out and promote distinct potentials, outstanding opportunities, competitive advantages, and limitations, and resolve difficulties, existences, and challenges.
The Council should actively research and propose specific institutions, mechanisms, and policies for the development of the Southeast region, promoting regional linkages. It is necessary to study carefully to propose breakthrough policies suitable to the important position and role of the region. Breakthrough and specific mechanisms need to go hand in hand with priority policies, in the spirit that resources originate from thinking, motivation originates from innovation, and strength originates from people.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh speaks to conclude the conference
In addition, supporting localities in the region to solve inter-provincial and -city issues that are not within the jurisdiction of localities in the region. This is one of the important tasks of the Regional Coordinating Council to promptly detect problems of inter-provincial and-city nature. In particular, localities must unite and work together to solve inter-provincial and -city problems, without fragmentation, competition, and mutual limitations.
Regarding coordination in the field of urban, logistics, high-quality services (financial centers, regional logistics centers), science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation, the Prime Minister stated that this is a typical task to promote the potentials and strengths of the region, which is different from other regions. Studying the formation of a regional infrastructure development fund in order to have capital to be allocated separately for associated fields, and to adopt a policy to mobilize social resources for joint activities. The Prime Minister noted that public investment needs to be right, successful, and focused on key points, promoting public-private cooperation, and taking the public investment to lead and activate private investment. Mobilizing various sources of capital such as borrowing from investment funds, issuing bonds, etc.
With a new spirit and new organization, the Prime Minister believed that with the determination, solidarity, unanimity, and high efforts of ministries, branches, and localities; the contribution of experts, scientists, research institutes, and related partners; strongly promoting the tradition of revolutionary history, culture, self-help for self-improvement spirit of "the hard-working but heroic East", the Coordinating Council for the Southeast Region will successfully complete the tasks set out, bringing the region to prosperity, and the people to be more and more prosperous and happy.