The recommendation was made byinternational partners and organisations participating in a conference held onFebruary 1 in Hanoi by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a bid to introducethe potential of the ’beautiful and unspoiled’ province to the world.
Michael Croft, head of office and UNESCOcountry representative to Vietnam, praised Ha Giang as being a model ofsustainable development as it continues to develop sustainable tourism,conserve local heritage and promote earth science research in the Dong VanKarst Plateau, recognised by UNESCO as a Global Geopark.
Irish Ambassador to Vietnam, Cáit Moran,shared a similar sentiment, saying, however, that the special nature of the province’stourism lay in its small-scale characteristics, eco-tourism, and communitytourism.
She said after her trip to the province,she had come to appreciate the real value of diversity in the region and advisethe provincial authorities to craft policies and decisions that “respect andengage these small communities”.
Developing tourism but preserving ethnicdiversity and culture has been identified as one of the areas needing supportfrom international partners, according to Nguyen Van Son, chairman of the HaGiang provincial People’s Committee.
The second priority was to develop and transferhigh-quality plant varieties, with a focus on organic agriculture and promotingthe capacity of manpower and agriculture officials and technicians.
Son said Ha Giang had 8,000ha of kingoranges, whose unique flavour earned Ministry of Industry and Trade’sgeographical indication and made it a name across the country. Thirty percentof orange orchards and plantations of shan tuyet tea is being cultivatedfollowing VietGap standards and the province wants to expand theVietGAP-compliant areas.
At the conference, Ha Giang province’sParty Secretary Trieu Tai Vinh asked the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam(Eurocham), whose presence remains limited in the province, to help Ha Giangstep up from VietGap to Global GAP, making its agro-products better knowninternationally and able to enter more demanding markets such as the EU.
He said Ha Giang’s third priority area wasin attracting official development aid and preferential-interest loans toimplement a range of infrastructure development projects, including watersupplies, wastewater treatment, upgrading health and education facilities, andbuilding safer roads.
The province also attaches importance toimproving human resources as well as scientific and technological capabilities,creating jobs, poverty alleviation, and ensuring the rights of workers anddisadvantaged groups in the locality.
Reaffirming the province’s commitments in administrativereforms, he said the province had implemented many measures to streamline themunder the one-stop mechanism, to best facilitate the conditions for businessesand organisations, Secretary Vinh said.
The “Ha Giang Presentation” conferencekicked off of a series of programmes to help promote the images, strengths andpotentials of localities across Vietnam to international organisations,diplomatic missions, and foreign businesses.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui ThanhSon noted Ha Giang was selected as the first due to “its converging of tangibleand intangible values,” and for its huge untapped potential. - VNA