Business development in the Northern Midlands and Mountains faces many difficulties

On April 12, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the People's Committee of Lao Cai province jointly organized a conference on trade promotion and import-export development in the Northern Midlands and Mountains region in Lao Cai city.

Ms. Phan Thi Thang - Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade emphasized: The Northern midlands and mountainous areas are particularly important strategic areas in terms of politics, socio-economy, national defense - security and foreign affairs of the whole country, the western and northern gateway of the country.

This is also an area with great potential and advantages for sustainable development with many rich natural resources, large areas of hills and forests, diverse climate, soil, and ethnic diversity...

The region's transportation network is being invested in and upgraded, making it increasingly convenient for communication with other regions in the country and building an open economy.

Ms. Phan Thi Thang, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, delivered the opening speech at the conference. Photo: Viet Vinh — Ms. Phan Thi Thang - Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade delivered the opening speech at the conference. Photo: Viet Vinh

In recent times, the Northern Midlands and Mountains have made good use of the above advantages, contributing to the overall success of the country's import-export picture. However, this region has a relatively small regional economic scale, ranking 5th out of 6 regions in terms of gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in 2020.

Besides, uneven economic growth among localities in the region leads to large intra-regional development gaps with some leading localities having faster growth rates such as Thai Nguyen, Bac Giang, Phu Tho, and Lao Cai.

The majority of the labor force is in the agricultural sector with low labor productivity. Business development in the region faces many difficulties. The density of enterprises over 1,000 people is currently the lowest in the country, only 1/3 of the national average enterprise density, reducing the dynamism of the regional economy.

Delegates attending the conference. Photo: Viet Vinh

In the Northwest region, hydropower is mainly developed in the provinces of Hoa Binh, Son La, Lai Chau, Lao Cai and mining industry in the provinces of Lao Cai, Thai Nguyen... Processing industry, especially agricultural and forestry processing in most localities in the region (except Bac Giang, Thai Nguyen) is still relatively difficult. Intra-regional and inter-regional connectivity is still very limited due to the distance and travel time between provinces in the region, making it difficult to connect socio-economic activities and share social infrastructure and public services between provinces in the region...

These restrictions have created many barriers to domestic market trade promotion activities and the development of import and export of goods and services from the region to the world.

"Through the conference, we expect to receive a lot of valuable information and solutions, soon contributing to bringing the Northern Midlands and Mountains region out of the "lowland" position in trade development, gradually narrowing the gap in income and trade development level of the region compared to the national average in the coming time", Deputy Minister Phan Thi Thang emphasized.

Leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade visit the exhibition area introducing products of Yen Bai province. Photo: Thanh Chi

Within the framework of the conference, the Trade Promotion Agency (Ministry of Industry and Trade) will organize a number of consultation sessions and trade connection sessions for businesses in the Northern Midlands and Mountains region with a number of consultants and importers in foreign markets.

On the sidelines of the conference, there will also be an exhibition area displaying typical products of the Northern Midlands and Mountains regions to support product promotion and trade connections for businesses in the region.

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