President Triet meets people in Mon Son commune, Con Cuong district.

State President Nguyen Minh Triet has asked the central province of Nghe An to step up hunger elimination and poverty reduction, and put an end to pre-harvest food shortages.

At a working session with Nghe An authorities on July 2, the State leader praised concerted efforts of the provincial Party organisation and people to maintain a high socio-economic growth in the first half of the year despite natural disasters, cattle epidemics and high inflation in the country.

He noted with pleasure that the province’s six-month gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 10.27%, higher than the figures of the same period in the two previous years and the nation’s average level.

Nghe An also enjoyed a bumper crop with an output of 686,000 tonnes, a year-on-year increase of 8.53%, while its industrial production and services posted respective rises of 16.1% and 11.6% over the first six months of 2007.

However, President Triet said the province, with a large mountainous area, still faces various difficulties and the local per capita income is lower than the country’s average although their living conditions have been improved.

The President pointed to Nghe An’s poverty rate of 18.3% that stands above the nation’s average rate as a great challenge. The rate even surpasses 50% in four of its districts.

He urged the province to build more roads to hamlets and villages in order to facilitate trade activities so as to better the local people’s lives.

During his three-day tour beginning June 30, President Triet also worked with provincial judiciary agencies, visited the Group of Volunteer Youth, and presented gifts to the Dan Lai ethnic minority community and soldiers in Con Cuong district. (VNA)