CẦN THƠ — National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyễn Thị Kim Ngân on Thursday asked Cần Thơ City to be well aware of its role and position in the Mekong Delta region, as well as its responsibility for boosting regional connectivity.

Attending the municipal Party organisation’s congress for the 2020-25 tenure, the Politburo member stressed that while the city does not have to be at the top in all fields, it should not develop slower than other localities in the region. It therefore needs to maximise its potential and advantages and foster regional coordination, particularly in trade and investment promotion.

It is also important to increase the efficiency of land and rural resource use and management, environmental protection, and climate change adaptation, she added, emphasising the necessity for the city to act as a model in the Delta region in these tasks.

The official urged the city to soon complete planning and implement its plans until 2030, and at the same time pilot building smart urban areas and a new urban governance model in several districts in the 2020-25 period.

To achieve rapid and sustainable development, Cần Thơ should focus on the processing industry, hi-tech agriculture, and high-value services, and consider the processing of agricultural and aquatic products as a spearhead of the industrial sector.

Ngân also highlighted the importance of handling the relationship between economic and cultural development appropriately, as well as improving high-quality human resources and healthcare, preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage, intensifying technological applications, and improving the capacity of the locality and businesses in international integration.

Cần Thơ should associate socio-economic development plans with those to build defensive postures, and strictly carry out Party resolutions, especially those related to Party building, she suggested.

Over the past five years, the city has enjoyed positive economic growth, with gross regional domestic product posting average annual growth of 7.53 per cent.

All the 36 communes and four districts of the city meet all of the new-style rural area building criteria. — VNS