Dien Bien (VNA) – The northwestern province ofDien Bien on May 6 held a ceremony to mark the 65th anniversary of the DienBien Phu victory that ended the French colonial rule in Vietnam (May 7).

The event also aims to celebrate the 110th foundinganniversary of Dien Bien province (June 28) and the 70th anniversary of theestablishment of the provincial Party Committee (October 10).

Addressing the ceremony, Vice Chairwoman of the NationalAssembly Tong Thi Phong lauded the achievements that Dien Bien has recordedacross multiple spheres over the years.

She urged the locality to pay more attention to healthcare,education, and culture and optimise its advantages towards becoming a middle-classprovince in the northwestern region by 2020.

Dien Bien should focus on trade; services; tourism,especially cultural, historical, and ecological tourism; and infrastructuredevelopment, particularly in the transport sector, thus turning Dien Bien Phuinto a second-tier city, the legislator said.

Additionally, the province needs to step up efforts inprotecting national border sovereignty, handling illegal missionary and free migration activities, streamlining administrative procedures, and combatingcorruption.  

Other important tasks include the maintenance of itsspecial friendship with the northern Lao provinces, while expanding relationswith China and Thailand, building a common border of friendship, cooperation,and development, Phong noted.

In his remarks, Secretary of the provincial PartyCommittee Tran Van Son briefed the audience on the foundations and developmentof the province, formerly known Lai Chau.

Dien Bien was created by dividing the former Lai Chaiprovince in early 2004.

He highlighted the locality’s marked achievements overthe years, with gross domestic product (GDP) growing 11.6 percent annuallyduring 2005-2010, and 9.11 percent between 2010 and 2015.  

The locality’s budget collection was nearly 9.6trillion VND (412.8 million USD) in 2018, 12.2 times higher than figures fromfour years ago; while its per capita income hit 26.37 million VND (1,133  USD), seven times higher than 2004, he said.

Significant progress has also been seen inculture-society, education, and training, the official said.

With its outstanding performance, Dien Bien hasreceived many prestigious prizes and titles presented by the Party and State,including the first-class Independence Order given to the province on thisoccasion.

Son also recalled the developments of the Dien BienPhu campaign and underlined the significance of the Dien Bien Phu victory 65years ago.

Earlier the same day, NA Vice Chairwoman Phong, headof the Party Central Committee’s Information and Education Commission Vo VanThuong, and other high-ranking  officialspaid tribute to martyrs at the A1 Cemetery and laid wreaths at the Dien BienPhu Victory Monument. –VNA