The figures were heard at a December24 conference in Can Tho city reviewing achievements the region has madein 2014 and orientations for 2015.
Southwestern localities areexpected to draw 262 trillion VND (12.47 billion USD) in investment andreduce the poverty rate to 4.5 percent next year.
Addressing theevent, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh, who is head of the steeringcommittee, urged the localities to focus on restructuring theagricultural sector in combination with building new-style rural areas.
Healso asked them to work closely with ministries and sectors tosuccessfully implement their political tasks in the coming year.
Ministries,sectors and regional localities should promptly make a list of priorityinfrastructure projects to be submitted to the Government, completeregulations on Mekong Delta regional linkage and implement programmes onsocio-economic development, climate change response, education,religion and security, among others.
Participants discussed waysto lure investment in infrastructure, support production and export, andmaintain defence and security in border areas.
In 2014, theSouthwestern Region’s economy was estimated to grow 8.98 percent, 1.5times higher than the country’s average. Its industrial productionincreased 11.9 percent and export turnover reached 12.3 billion USD, up15.87 percent year-on-year.
The region produced 25 million tonnes of rice, about 500,000 tonnes higher than last year’s volume.-VNA