Today, I am very pleased to be able to join with comrades and scientists to attend the scientific seminar: "Binh Duong’s development model in the national innovation", jointly organized by the Binh Duong Provincial Party Committee and the Central Theoretical Council. This is a meaningful event, following our solemn celebration of the 25th anniversary of the separation and establishment of Binh Duong province to spread excitement, pride, trust and arouse the desire for development. Especially, the Seminar is an opportunity for Binh Duong province to share its unique experiences and rich development practices to summarize 40 years of national innovation, preparing a step for the development of draft documents to be submitted to the 14th National Party Congress. On behalf of the Steering Committee for the Summary of 40 Years of Innovation and the Seminar Organizing Committee, I would like to send to comrades, scientists and delegates cordial greetings and best wishes. Wishing all of you good health, happiness, and success.

Although Binh Duong is not a locality with rich natural resources, nor is it a locality with strategic infrastructure such as seaports and airports, Binh Duong is considered a place of "Good land, birds perch (land of opportunity)", a destination for domestic and foreign enterprises, and a convergence of strategic investors. This is an attractive land, strongly attracting skilled workers who have a spirit of innovation with the desire to start a business, get rich, as well as hard-working workers with the desire to increase income, escape poverty.

 

Inheriting and promoting the original foundations of Song Be province, over the past 25 years, Binh Duong has achieved comprehensive and outstanding development achievements. The province has risen to be one of the dynamic and leading provinces in the country in many fields of socio-economic development; has become one of the dynamic provinces, leading the country in many fields of socio-economic development. The province is also one of the growth poles, innovation and creative start-up centers of the Southeast Region, driving force area in the development quadrangle of the Southern Key Economic Region. The province's economic growth rate always remains high compared to the national average. In 2023, the scale of the province's GRDP has increased more than 117 times compared to 1997. The economic structure is shifting positively based on the application of science - technology and innovation, towards rapid and sustainable development. People's lives have been constantly improved and enhanced. Social security and welfare have been cared for and guaranteed. The historical, cultural and human potentials and strengths have been constantly aroused and strongly promoted. The protection of the ecological environment, natural resources, land and water resources has been implemented synchronously and promptly. Party building and the political system have had many new points. Social order, safety, national defense and security have been guaranteed. Foreign affairs activities have been focused on expanding and becoming increasingly in-depth.

It should be emphasized that Binh Duong is currently one of the localities with the highest per capita income in the country. Since 2017, Binh Duong has been recognized as the first province in the country with no poor households according to Central government’s standards. Since 1997, more than 2 million people have chosen to come to Binh Duong to live and work. The land has not disappointed people and has helped them realize their "dreams" and aspirations to change their lives. Nowadays, Binh Duong has become an industrial province with a high average income, 10 years ahead in completing the development goals set for Viet Nam by 2030 and has a solid premise to become a modern, high-income developed province before 2045.

Looking back over a quarter of a century, Binh Duong has truly become a model of breakthrough development, a bright spot in how to promote the location advantage of a province near a large urban area; in mobilizing investment resources, building infrastructure, promoting industrialization, modernization and urbanization. The outstanding effort to rise is a great motivation and source of inspiration, arousing pride and the desire for development not only in every person of Binh Duong but also in the people of the whole country about the province's breakthrough thinking, unique models and creative ways of promoting comprehensive and synchronous innovation.

Binh Duong province's development model is a successful combination of the ability to exploit and squeeze out rare advantages, converting disadvantages into advantages with a correct development strategy to break through and rise up; the desire to conquer the heights of development with forward-looking vision and the spirit of constant innovation; the policy of paving the way and facilitating mechanisms of the Central government institutionalized, integrated and converged with flexible working methods and creative application of localities; the companionship and sharing of the government with enterprises and people; the close association of economic growth goals with ensuring social security, human development, and ecological environment protection in the process of promoting industrialization, modernization, urbanization, etc. 

More than a year ago, I had the opportunity to share about these things at the Seminar: "Keeping up the tradition, Binh Duong province - The journey of a quarter century: Achievements and Prospects". We may have different ways of understanding, viewing and evaluating the development model of a locality. However, the development miracles that Binh Duong achieved today are certainly not simply the result of applying an abstract theoretical model. Essentially, this is the convergence and crystallization of good experiences, creative and specific ways of doing things that have been summarized and tested to be correct from Binh Duong's development practice over more than a quarter of a century; therefore, it can become a model for other localities to refer to and apply. 

From that perspective, at this Seminar, I would like to add and emphasize a number of issues that, in my opinion, are key to the success of Binh Duong province's development model in the national innovation:

It does not have as many advantages as some localities, but with high determination and creative methods, Binh Duong has fully exploited the greatest and rarest advantage of being located next to Ho Chi Minh City, the most dynamic economic center in the country. Exploiting the "follower advantage", "standing next to and walking with giants", Binh Duong has found an effective "shortened development" path, attracting investment capital and abundant labor resources thanks to the connection and spillover effect, to accelerate the process of industrialization and urbanization; gradually forming its own way of "relying on strategic investors as the driving force", reaching out to the world and achieving outstanding achievements. Binh Duong's development path vividly depicts the process of constantly innovating mindset, awareness and ways of doing things: from promoting investment attraction, industrial development, and labor-intensive industries in the early days to promoting industrialization, developing fields with high technology content and innovation, combining industrialization and modernization with urbanization; from building new urban areas to forming industrial - service - urban complexes to prioritize the development of smart, ecological urban areas, gradually researching and investing in the model of industrial park - science - technology urban area, innovation region in order to create new driving forces, realizing the vision of building Binh Duong province into a centrally run city with sustainable development towards a smart, civilized and modern urban area in the future. 

Binh Duong is one of a few localities in Viet Nam that have effectively exploited the value of land to invest in infrastructure and accelerate socio-economic development by building synchronous and large-scale industrial parks and urban areas. Along with the planning of new industrial zones, the Binh Duong New City project was born since very early days, showing foresight in the province's development planning to reduce the load on social infrastructure in the old city right from the beginning of the industrialization process. Binh Duong also built a smart city development project quite early as a foundation to promote the implementation of the project "Binh Duong Innovation Region". I have heard that the draft Binh Duong Provincial Planning for the 2021-2030 period, with a vision to 2050, orients the organization of Binh Duong's territorial space to become an Innovation Region with a structure including: 01 development axis, 02 ecological corridors, 03 connecting belts and 05 development zones; promoting links with localities in the Southeast region, with Ho Chi Minh City, connecting the Central Highlands - Southwest; through provincial planning, continuing to perfect and upgrade the industrial - urban - service park model to an outstanding level, gradually escaping the growth model based on capital, land and low-skilled labor; pioneering in exploiting and taking advantage of green, smart and modern development trends to attract high quality investment resources, focusing on attracting domestic and foreign investment projects that fully ensure all three factors: advanced technology, environmental protection and use of skilled labor.

Looking back on the past journey, developing the infrastructure system, especially the transportation infrastructure connecting with Ho Chi Minh City is one of Binh Duong's highest priorities to attract investment and labor resources, thereby maximizing the province's geo-economic advantages. From the initial breakthrough decisions such as investing, upgrading and expanding National Highway 13, helping shorten travel time from Binh Duong center to Tan Son Nhat airport and Sai Gon port to less than one hour, up to now, Binh Duong's connection infrastructure has developed basically synchronously and modernly. The entire province has "changed its look" into modern urban areas and civilized rural areas. From an agricultural province, Binh Duong has become the province with the second fastest urbanization rate in the country, with a rate of up to 84%. In 2019, 100% of communes in the entire province met new-style rural standards. In 2023, Binh Duong entered the Top 7 communities with typical smart city development strategies in the world for the third consecutive time. Along with a long-term planned land fund, a synchronous and basically modern infrastructure system has helped Binh Duong become a destination for "billion-dollar" investors, such as Lego Group project. With efforts to invest in digital infrastructure, ecological and smart urban infrastructure, with medical, educational, environmental services, etc. of high standards, synchronously connected with Ho Chi Minh City and neighboring provinces, Binh Duong continues to prove to be a convergence of investors, attracting high-quality human resources to live and work.

Binh Duong is one of the pioneering localities in the country in combining public and private resources thanks to its boldness and determination to remove barriers to create an open business environment. From the beginning, local governments have accompanied enterprises in building key infrastructure. Binh Duong is also one of the early localities to have a centralized administrative center and implement one-stop administrative procedures, promoting digitalization. "Working hard together with enterprises", "Spreading flower mats to invite investment", "Spreading red carpet to invite the talent" are not just calls but are actually specific action guidelines, implemented effectively and consistently by authorities at all levels in the province over the past many years, helping Binh Duong become a "worth living" place, "good land, birds perch", where "eagles lay eggs". Binh Duong's experience shows the significant role of strategic investors in the socio-economic development of localities. As I have shared before, it is Becamex IDC, a very successful development company model that has played a key role in shaping Binh Duong's development process for more than a quarter of a century that no other economic group has been able to do in other localities in the country. It is also VSIP, the first industrial real estate enterprise model of cooperation between Viet Nam and Singapore, with VSIP III having become a model for green industrial park development associated with the orientation of creating a high-tech industrial ecosystem.

Binh Duong's development model is a harmonious, flexible and lively combination of all the above groundbreaking components. These are: Becamex IDC development company model, Viet Nam - Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) model; Binh Duong Smart City model; Binh Duong Innovation Region model, smart and sustainable industry - urban - service model; industrial - urban - international service - innovation - science and technology model; along with many unique institutions, and ways of doing things: government constructs, people accompany, enterprises take action; "Government - University - Industry" linkage, "Government - Industry - Science" linkage, etc. These factors help Binh Duong not only to become a meeting place for culture and people but truly become a convergence of creative ideas and aspirations for innovation.

Looking back over the past 25 years, the process of promoting industrialization and urbanization has brought outstanding marks in the development miracle of Binh Duong. However, the province is also facing many difficulties and challenges, notably the need to overcome the mentality of being satisfied with the achieved success. And more importantly, we must overcome the "productivity trap" and "middle income trap" in the post-industrial development period. This requires much greater effort and determination than before because we all know that picking sweet fruit from high branches will be much more difficult than from the low ones; not to mention the development context of the world, region and country is facing many challenges.

It should also be added that, among the many factors leading to the successful development of Binh Duong, the most important and decisive is ensuring and promoting the leadership role of Party committees at all levels; building a clean, strong and comprehensive Party and local political system; building solidarity and unity in the grassroots political system; deeply grasping and complying with the Party's principles and leadership methods. This is a valuable lesson and a basis for the province to propose correct, groundbreaking and creative policies and guidelines; arouse the desire to develop, mobilize and effectively allocate resources; create trust, consensus and support from the people. I believe the right directions are being implemented, promoting the spirit of breakthrough and innovation, inheriting and promoting the reasonable elements of the development model in the recent period. Binh Duong will continue to identify and propose new outstanding guidelines and policies to establish a new development model and new development foundation in the next period.

At today's Seminar, the Organizing Committee recommends that comrades focus on discussing and deepening some of the following key issues:

First, analyze and clarify theoretical and practical issues about the provincial development model in the national innovation.

Second, from the development practice of Binh Duong province, clarify the connotation and portraying the province's development model; point out the problems facing this model when Binh Duong enters a new period of development; propose viewpoints and development orientations of Binh Duong province until the middle of the 21st century, contributing to the development of a draft document submitted to the 12th Provincial Party Congress.

Third, from the reasonable elements of the development model, good experiences, and innovative ways of doing things in Binh Duong province, research the conditions and possibilities of application to other localities in the country; contribute to providing scientific basis for perfecting the theory of innovation policies and developing draft documents to be submitted to the 14th Party Congress.

With the spirit of science, democracy, creativity, and straightforwardness, I believe that our Seminar will have many practical and valuable ideas, recommendations, and suggestions for the development of Binh Duong province, for the comprehensive and synchronous promotion of innovation and national development in the new period.

Once again, wishing our comrades, managers, experts, businesspeople and all of you good health, happiness and success.

Wishing the Seminar a great success.