President confident in Mekong Delta's farming prospect

President Truong Tan Sang has stated that the agriculture-reliant Mekong Delta region will be further developed with the support of increased capital inflows.

President Truong Tan Sang speaks at the meeting. (Credit: VGP)

During a working session with the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on December 2, the President asked the committee to weigh up opportunities and challenges ahead of Vietnam joining a number of free trade agreements in order to make appropriate preparations for integration.

He urged localities in the region to spread effective farming models to lift farmers out of the middle-income trap.

In regards to infrastructure and climate change, he requested mechanisms to mobilise foreign resources and the use of advanced construction techniques to ensure effective long-term investment.

The President also called for developing transport routes connecting Ho Chi Minh City with the southwestern region to facilitate the trade of goods and farm produce.

According to the committee, the region has harvested 3.1 million tonnes of rice and 3.3 million tonnes of aquatic products since early this year.

It has raked in US$10.9 billion from exports, contributing VND71 trillion (US$3.22 billion) to the State budget and successfully developed 236 out of 260 communes into new-style rural areas.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)