HCM City (VNA) - A senior official said the Central Highlands region in 2007 would mobilise all resources, including foreign investment, for socio-economic development, with priority being given to power, transport and irrigation projects.
Minister of Public Security Le Hong Anh, who is also director of the Tay Nguyen (Central Highlands) Steering Committee, gave the instruction during the committee's conference held in Ho Chi Minh City on Feb. 26 to review its work in 2006 and discuss tasks for 2007.
"The region should strive to create breakthroughs in socio-economic development in ethnic minorities-inhabited areas, narrowing the gap between these areas and the economically-developed ones," the minister said.
He added that ministries and agencies should work with the locality to solve issues related to land, housing, water, jobs and providing land and forest for poor ethnic minority people. Relevant agencies are required to help the region reduce the rate of poor households to below 45 percent from the current 52 percent.
Last year, the region reported a nearly 14 percent growth in GDP and a nearly 23.5 percent year-on-year increase in per-capita income. The rate of poor households dropped by 4.8 percent for the entire region and by 5.98 percent for the ethnic minorities-inhabited areas.
During the year, 80,000 local households were provided with loans valued at 140 billion VND and 970 houses were built for poor people.-Enditem
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