HCM City, (VNA)– Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh held a working session with key officials ofHo Chi Minh City on May 13, his first meeting of the kind with a locality aftertaking up the top position in the Government, which demonstrated the specialimportance that the PM and the Government attach to the southern hub.

While acknowledging the efforts and important achievements that HCM City hasmade in the past years, PM Chinh noted that the city has failed to achievesocio-economic targets in the 2016-2020 period. He also pointed to outstandingproblems such as slow disbursement of public investment capital, irrational landuse structure, delayed equitisation of State-owned enterprises, andlower-than-expected human resource quality.

To address the problems, the PM suggested several major tasks that the cityshould implement, which are to strengthen the Party organisation, build cleanand democratic administrative system with good discipline and order, and pushahead with administrative reform to meet requirements in the new stage ofdevelopment.  

In the immediatefuture, the city should strictly implement the Party and Government’s directionson COVID-19 prevention and control, and make thorough preparations for the safeand successful organization of the elections of deputies to the 15th National Assembly and all-level People’s Councils in the 2021-2026 tenure, hesaid.

The Government leaderalso asked the city to continue revise institutions, mechanisms and policies inorder to make timely adjustments and supplements, mobilise social resources fordevelopment, pay more attention to human resources, and ensure social welfare,especially for disadvantaged groups in society.

PM Chinh said theGovernment basically agrees with the 15 proposals of the city and suggested onemore idea on building a regional and international financial centre.

HCMCity posted a 4.58 percent economic growth year-on-year in the first quarter ofthis year, along with a 14 percent increase in export value and 1.1 billion USDin foreign investment, while doing well in containing COVID-19, Chairman of thecity People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong reported.

He added that the cityhas set nine key tasks in socio-economic development, including a 6.5 percenteconomic growth for 2021 and keeping the pandemic under control.

During his working trip to the city, the PM visited and gave encouragement tomedical workers at the Cho Ray Hospital and the University Medical Centre.

“Frontline forces madeimportant and decisive contributions to pandemic prevention and control as wellas the settlement of consequences,” he said, stressing that the Party, Stateand people recognize and highly value the contribution of the contingent ofmedical workers./.