A New Vision for Ho Chi Minh City: Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s Call for Innovation and Progress

On June 18, in Ho Chi Minh City, a Central Work Delegation led by General Secretary To Lam had a working session with the Standing Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, Ba Ria-Vung Tau Provincial Party Committee, and Binh Duong Provincial Party Committee.

Speaking at the session, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh stated that the country is going through a historic moment and needs historic decisions and effective implementation.

According to the Prime Minister, the reorganization of local administrative units and the establishment of a two-level local government model have received strong consensus from the people.

The National Assembly has passed a resolution on the rearrangement of administrative units and the Law on Local Government Organization (amended). “This reflects the Party’s will and the people’s aspirations, and is appropriate and timely for the country’s situation. The country supports it, the people support it, and we are confident in doing it,” the Prime Minister said.

The Prime Minister also commended the leadership of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Van Nen, Binh Duong Provincial Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Van Loi, and Ba Ria-Vung Tau Provincial Party Committee Secretary Pham Viet Thanh for their determination and resoluteness in closely following the situation and the Central Committee and Politburo’s directives on organizing the two-level local government model.

The three localities have also successfully fulfilled their economic development tasks and maintained social order, national defense, and security.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the new Ho Chi Minh City must have a new vision. This vision entails striving to become one of the top 100 rapidly developing, modern, and sustainable cities in the world by 2030 and aiming to be among the top 50 by 2045.

“This goal is challenging, but the new Ho Chi Minh City has the foundation and conditions to achieve it,” the Prime Minister remarked.

He expressed his expectation that the new Ho Chi Minh City would be a pioneer in organizing the two-level local government model. The Party committees, authorities, Fatherland Front, and socio-political organizations should soon stabilize the situation and smoothly operate the two-level local government model, staying close to the people, serving the people, and maintaining a close bond with them.

Additionally, the new Ho Chi Minh City needs to focus on developing the digital economy, digital government, digital society, and digital citizens, improving digital signatures, and enhancing digital databases.

The education and healthcare sectors should prioritize building digital directories and digital academic records. Firstly, units need to research ways for people to access healthcare and education without being constrained by administrative boundaries but rather based on their travel distance.

The new Ho Chi Minh City should also promote the mobilization of private economic resources and actively and effectively contribute to resolving institutional bottlenecks, thereby facilitating the country’s overall development.

The Prime Minister instructed the new Ho Chi Minh City not to invest diffusely in the coming time but to concentrate on strategic infrastructure and forming representative and iconic projects. Attention should be given to planning and developing projects that prioritize addressing traffic congestion and environmental issues.

Emphasis should also be placed on the cultural and entertainment industries to enable people to enjoy cultural products, artists to pursue their professions, and to internationalize Vietnam’s unique culture.

The Prime Minister outlined three “perseverances”: perseverance in vision and goals, perseverance in breakthrough solutions and resource mobilization, and perseverance in leadership and management, with victory bringing no arrogance and defeat causing no discouragement.

He expressed his belief that with new momentum, new driving forces, and new resources, the new Ho Chi Minh City would excellently fulfill the tasks assigned by the Party and the Central Committee.