Gia Lai (VNA) – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc hasinstructed the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai to continue increasing itsforest coverage and protecting its ecosystem and distinctive cultural identity,saying these are strategic orientations for the locality’s development.

He had a working session on November 30 with the province that ranksfirst in the Central Highlands and third in the country in terms of forestcoverage and forms part of the Central Highlands Gong Cultural Space, the Masterpiece ofOral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

The province is projected to accomplish all its set targets, with its GDPgrowth to reach 8 percent, and GRDP per capita, 45.36 million VND thisyear.  

It, however, is dealing with declining prices of key farm produce, low humanresources quality, and complicated political security and social order.

PM Phuc said the province has built some hi-tech productive production models andachieved encouraging outcomes in constructing new rural areas, generating jobs,and taking care of people’s health and policy beneficiaries.

However, the poverty rate in the province remains high, especially among ethnicminority people. There are some villages where all households are classified aspoor, he said.

The province has yet fully tapped potential and advantages of some sectors,such as agriculture while its 4,900 businesses are operating mainly as smalland medium-sized ones, he said.

He instructed competent ministries and sector, including the Ministry ofFinance, to work with the province in assisting over 100 ethnic householdsliving in landslide and flooding-prone areas in Krong Pa district to move tosafer places.

“This is an important work that needs to be promptly done to ensure thelife of people living here,” he said.

While approving the province’s goal of balancing its budget, he suggested thelocality to focus on high-tech farm and forestry processing; tourism service;and developing a selected industry based on its comparative advantage like windand solar energy or processing industry for its future socio-economic development.

He asked the province to drastically improve its business environment, sharpenits competitiveness, and assist business development. “Each office, district,and commune needs to work harder, especially in tackling difficulties to makeit easier for businesses to promote production and tap the province’sstrengths.”

He also asked the locality to continue reforming administrativeprocedures, and tapping its land resources and position as the centre of theCambodia-Laos-Vietnam development triangle.

Gia Lai needs to draw high-tech projects into agriculture and make the best useof its advantageous tourism features to create jobs for local people, hesaid.-VNA