President continues tour of northern mountainous provinces

President Truong Tan Sang meets border guards based at the Tra Linh Border Gate in Cao Bang (Photo: VNA)

In Cao Bang, the State leader offered incense at Tra Linh district’s cemetery, which is the last resting place of more than 300 soldiers who laid down their lives in the war to protect the northern border in 1979.

He also visited border guards based at the Tra Linh Border Gate. They are in charge of 27km of the borderline with China, 60 border markers, four communes and one town.

He asked the border guards to advise provincial authorities about measures to facilitate the cross-border movement of goods and labour amidst growing trade relations between Vietnam and China. They should also continue solidifying peace and friendship in border communities, as well as their solidarity with local ethnic minorities.

At a working session with provincial officials, President Truong Tan Sang said Cao Bang needs to make breakthroughs to become a middle-income province and to further contribute to peace and friendship along its border.

He underlined four local advantages that should be promoted, namely cross-border economic activities, agricultural product processing, mining, and tourism. To do so, it is necessary to quickly upgrade infrastructure, including key transport facilities, to ensure the smooth transportation of goods.

In 2015, local GDP growth rate was posted at 9 percent while over 2,000ha of forest was planted - 27 percent higher than the set target, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Hoang Anh reported.

VNA