Conference “Economic Restructuring Project in An Giang Province”

An Giang, 4th January 2020. Fulbright School of Public Policy and Management joined forces with An Giang People's Committee to organize the Conference to obtain insights for the Project "Economic Restructuring in An Giang: Breakthroughs towards Sustainable Development". The project is commissioned by An Giang People's Committee and is expected to be an insightful resource for the province's development strategies in the upcoming period 2021-2030.

Honored guests to the Conference include Mr. Nguyen Van Giau – Member of Party Central Committee, Chairman of National Assembly's Committee on Foreign Affairs; Mr. Phan Thanh Binh, Member of Party Central Committee, Chairman of NA's Committee on Culture, Adolescents and Children. The conference honorably received key leadership figures from the province, e.g. Ms. Vo Thi Anh Xuan – Provincial Party Secretary; Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh – Chairman of People's Committee, Mr. Do Tan Ket – Vice Chairman of People's Committee, and Mr. Le Van Nung – Vice Chairman of People's Council and other local leaders from previous administrations.

Also attending the conference are staff members of Document Drafting and Administrative Department for Party Documents Unit, members of Project Appraisal Board, and local leaders from related departments and agencies together with researchers from various universities in HCMC, Can Tho and An Giang.

The main focus of the conference is to evaluate competitiveness of An Giang province, discuss contemporary bottle necks hindering the province's growth in the past 20 years; henceforth, strategic orientations and six target programs are proposed in order to realize the aspirations of the province's leaders, citizens, and entrepreneurs.

 

 

In her concluding remark, Ms. Vo Thi Anh Xuan, Provincial Party Secretary, noted that, "An Giang needs to change its perceptions, cognizant of the province's constraints and challenges in order to decide the proper strategic course of actions, alter leadership thinkings, and inspire citizens as well as entrepreneurs... This calls for "the second revolution in An Giang", which is by no means less challenging than the first revolution in 1986."

In his critique for the research findings by Fulbright School, Mr. Phan Thanh Binh "highly appreciated Fulbright research efforts as it successfully produced technocratic and substantive conclusions. The report is conducted with great care and constructive attitude."

 

 

In his keynote speech, Mr. Nguyen Van Giau reviewed some innovations of An Giang contributing to the reform progress in the region and country, including: the transformation of Long Xuyen Quadrilateral; administrative mechanisms, particularly household-based management; direct loans to farmers; catfish farming units; and large-sized meadow model. He also expects "The project must give the concrete answer of how An Giang economy will change in the next 10 years? What are designed programs to transform the economic structurally? How should economic planning be adjusted to new strategies and vision?" In the end, he emphasized the critical priority is "to transform the vision of central government towards the prospects of Mekong Delta in general and An Giang in particular."

 

 

Two conspicuous bottlenecks of An Giang debated at the Conference are growth mindset and transportation connectivity with South East region. These are two underlying reasons behind decelerating growth rates and per capita income of the province vis-à-vis 2010s and other neighboring regions, despite its great potential in agricultural production and tourism. Discussants also present and discuss recommendations which can be considered by An Giang to choose its most suitable directions in subsequent phases.