Thai Nguyen province should take various measures to promote socio-economic development in addition to the steel industry, said State President Nguyen Minh Triet during a visit to the province on March 2-3.

Mr Triet said Thai Nguyen has great potential for development so the upcoming Party Congress should take measures to accelerate rapid and sustainable growth in the region. He praised Thai Nguyen for achieving its economic growth rate of 9.1 percent in 2009, despite the impact of the global economic downturn.

However, in addition to fostering industrial development, the province should also pay more attention to agriculture and rural development and improve the living standard of citizens, he said, adding that the province should focus investment on specific field, instead of mass industrial investment.

As the country’s first metallurgy industry centre, the province should work with ministries and relevant agencies to devise a strategy for development of the steel and mechanical manufacturing industries. The province should mobilize both domestic and foreign capital to develop the metallurgy industry into the key sector of not only Thai Nguyen but also the whole country, Mr Triet said.

In terms of juridical reform, Mr Triet highly praised the province’s effort to improving the quality of investigation, prosecution, judgment and human resources training.

During the two-day visit, Mr Triet visited the Thai Nguyen Steel Rolling Factory and attended the inauguration ceremony of the Da Phuc Port Complex. He expressed his hope that the Da Phuc Port Complex will help Thai Nguyen to attract investment, reduce traffic jams in Hai Phong Port and lessen road transport congestion.

At a working session with the High Command of Military Zone 1, Mr Triet asked the armed forces of Military Zone 1 to bravely fight against acts of sabotage, smuggling and trading fake products, maintain the border line of peace and friendship, and improve living conditions for ethnic minority and mountain people.