Decision No. 1064/QD-TTg approves the overall socio-economic development plan for the midland and mountainous northern region until 2020.

Pursuant to …;

Approving the Master Plan for Socio-Economic Development of the Midland and Northern Mountainous Region until 2020

and the mountainous North region by 2020

PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

Pursuant to Decree No. 92/2006/ND-CP dated September 7, 2006 of the Government on the preparation, approval, and management of master plans for socio-economic development, and Decree No. 04/2008/ND-CP dated January 11, 2008 amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 92/2006/ND-CP of the Government;

Considering the proposal of the Ministry of Planning and Investment,

DECISION:

Article 1. Approves the Master Plan for Socio-Economic Development of the Midland and Northern Mountainous Region until 2020 with the main contents as follows:

I. POSITION AND ROLE

The Midland and Northern Mountainous Region is a strategically important area for socio-economic development, national defense, security, and foreign relations nationwide, playing a significant role in the ecological environment of the entire Red River Delta region; it has potential and advantages for agricultural, forestry, hydropower, mining, tourism, and border economic development; it is also an area where many ethnic groups live together with long-standing traditions and unique cultural identities, known for their patriotism, unity, and tenacity in resisting foreign invaders, and rich in historical and cultural relics and revolutionary bases.

Promote human factors, improve the quality of human resources, have policies to attract and effectively utilize high-quality human resources; have mechanisms to encourage the development of education and training, especially the civil service, business leaders, and workers.

- The Master Plan for Socio-Economic Development of the Midland and Northern Mountainous Region must be consistent with the National Strategy for Socio-Economic Development; ensure consistency with sectoral and field-specific plans; fully exploit and maximize all resources to attract investment for development; expand markets and increase export capacity; promote rapid, efficient, and sustainable economic growth.

- Effectively exploit and utilize the potential and strengths of the Region through the development of economic corridors such as Lang Son - Hanoi and Lao Cai - Hanoi - Haiphong; enhance cooperation among localities within the Region to mobilize and utilize all resources efficiently for rapid and sustainable development, gradually narrowing the development gap between the Region and the rest of the country.

- Focus on key investments in sectors and fields that have advantages in the Region; develop industrial zones and border economic zones to enhance the competitiveness of goods and create breakthroughs in fundamentally changing the economic structure. Develop agriculture and forestry on a concentrated scale, linked with the processing industry for post-harvest products serving domestic consumption and exports.

- Promote economic development while ensuring social progress and equity, creating jobs, reducing poverty, and improving the living standards of people in the Region, especially ethnic minority communities in former resistance areas and difficult regions.

- Combine socio-economic development with environmental protection and sustainable development. Link economic development with tourism development, conservation, and promotion of historical and traditional cultural values imbued with ethnic characteristics.

- Integrate socio-economic development with national defense and security, political stability, social order and safety, and the maintenance of national border sovereignty.

Basically complete the stable resettlement of residents, especially those relocated due to hydropower and irrigation projects, moving people to the border areas; basically resolve the issue of spontaneous migration; preserve and promote the cultural identity of ethnic groups, improve the material and spiritual lives of the people, especially those in ethnic minority areas, remote and mountainous regions, and border areas; curb social evils; integrate economic and social development with environmental protection, ensuring national defense, security, and political stability.

1. General objectives:

Strive to maintain a higher rate of economic growth than the national average; significantly improve and modernize the socio-economic infrastructure system to better meet the requirements of economic development, livelihoods, and national defense and security; rationally exploit and effectively utilize the Region's potential and strengths in agriculture, forestry, hydropower, minerals, tourism, and border economic activities to promote economic development and gradually narrow the development and living standard gap between the Region and the national average; basically complete the resettlement and stabilization of residents, particularly those relocated due to water conservancy and hydropower projects, moving residents to the border areas, and addressing the issue of spontaneous migration; conserve and promote ethnic cultural identity, improve the material and spiritual life of the people; link economic and social development with environmental protection, national defense, security, political stability, and the firm safeguarding of national sovereignty.

2. Specific Objectives:

a) On economic development.

- Strive to achieve an annual average GDP growth rate of 7.5% during the period 2011-2015 and over 8% during the period 2016-2020. Per capita GDP is expected to reach approximately $2,000 by 2020.

- Shift the economic structure, with the proportion of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries in GDP in the Region being 27% by 2015, industry and construction 34.1%, and services 38.9%; by 2020, the corresponding proportions will be 21.9%, 38.7%, and 39.4%.

- Export turnover increases at an average rate of 16-17% annually. The rate of technological innovation reaches 20% annually. Strive to achieve a budget revenue to GDP ratio exceeding 12% by 2015 and reaching about 13% by 2020.

b) On social development:

- Strive for social targets in the Region to reach the national average level; reduce the poverty rate by 3-4% annually; in each five-year plan, provide employment for approximately 250,000 to 300,000 workers; keep the unemployment rate in urban areas around 4.5-5%, increase the labor force utilization rate in rural areas to above 85%; raise the proportion of trained labor to over 65% by 2020.

- Consolidate and improve the quality of universal primary education and junior secondary education. By 2020, increase the preschool attendance rate to over 92% and ensure that 99% of school-age children attend school.

- Strive to achieve a national standard health status rate of 80% in communes by 2015 and 100% by 2020; the rate of commune health stations with doctors should reach 60-70% by 2015 and over 80% by 2020; reduce the malnutrition rate among children under five years old to below 20% by 2015 and below 15% by 2020; increase the number of hospital beds per 10,000 people to 20.5 beds by 2015 and 25 beds by 2020.

- Consolidate and build cultural information facilities at the commune and ward levels, striving to have 90% of villages, hamlets, and ethnic villages equipped with cultural houses and community activity centers by 2020.

- Upgrade and modernize broadcasting and television transmission technology, aiming to cover 100% of the population with terrestrial television signals by 2015; diversify broadcast programs and ensure sufficient airtime for locally produced content.

c) On environmental protection:

- Develop the economy and society in conjunction with environmental protection, rational exploitation and conservation of natural resources; limit increases in pollution and environmental incidents; increase forest coverage to 50% by 2020.

- By 2020, most urban and rural residents will have access to clean and hygienic water; 100% production and business establishments will apply clean technology or equipment to reduce pollution and treat waste; over 80% of production and business establishments will meet environmental standards; cities of category 4 and above and all industrial zones will have centralized wastewater treatment systems; 95% of general solid waste, 85% of hazardous waste, and 100% of medical waste will be treated to meet environmental standards.

d) On national defense and security:

- Strengthen national defense and security capabilities, including material infrastructure, weapons, equipment, and forces, to maintain political stability and social order and safety; effectively build provinces into strong defensive areas under new circumstances.

- Build a people's national defense posture integrated with a people's security posture, especially along borderlines and critical areas, facilitating economic and social development while ensuring national defense and security and firmly protecting sovereignty and territorial integrity.

- Vigorously promote propaganda, education, and mobilization of the masses to strictly comply with state laws to limit and prevent traffic accidents. Intensify efforts to prevent and combat various types of crime and social evils, and build a new cultural lifestyle in villages and hamlets.

IV. DIRECTIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SECTORS AND INDUSTRIES

1. Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries:

Develop sustainable agricultural production linked with forest protection and ecological environment. Promote agriculture, forestry, and fisheries with an average annual growth rate of 4-4.5% during the period 2011-2015 and 3.5-4% during the period 2016-2020.

- Focus on developing concentrated crop cultivation areas suitable for tea, rubber, coffee, fruit trees, medicinal plants, flowers, vegetables, etc., based on each locality's comparative advantages and market demand. Develop livestock farming, poultry raising; establish grass-fed livestock farms such as beef cattle, dairy cattle, goats, and pig farms at large-scale farms linked with food processing industries to gradually increase the share of livestock in agriculture.

- Carefully manage and protect existing forest areas, intensify upstream reforestation, protective forest planting around reservoirs, hydroelectric dams, and areas prone to landslides; effectively implement closed forest management and regeneration, and plant raw material forests for processing industries, special trees, medicinal plants under forest canopies, scattered tree planting, and landscape forests to green barren hills and mountains. Complete land allocation and forest transfer linked with settlement stabilization, end slash-and-burn practices; strictly protect national parks, nature reserves, and rare flora and fauna gene pools.

- Develop freshwater aquaculture in large lakes using advanced, efficient, and sustainable methods, ensuring ecological environments. Promote high-value aquatic species farming like salmon, trout, silver carp, and other cold-water fish in areas with favorable topography and climate conditions in Lai Châu, Lào Cai, and Sơn La provinces.

2. Industry:

- Focus on developing industries such as food processing, deep mineral processing, consumer goods manufacturing with competitive advantage and labor-intensive characteristics. Emphasize the development of supporting industries linked with industrial parks and border economic zones. Strive for an average annual increase in industrial production value of over 11.5% during the period 2011-2015 and 12.5% during the period 2016-2020.

- Mobilize all resources to invest in completing infrastructure in industrial parks and clusters within the Region to attract businesses to develop production. Revitalize and develop traditional craft villages producing products suitable for local cultural characteristics to create jobs and increase income for the people.

- Invest in modern technology and equipment for deep mineral processing of apatite (Lào Cai); Sin Quyền copper-zinc (Lào Cai); nickel-copper Bản Phúc (Sơn La); tungsten Núi Pháo (Thai Nguyen); iron Quý Sa and Làng Lếch (Lào Cai), Trại Cau (Thai Nguyen); tin Tĩnh Túc (Cao Bằng), lead, zinc, kaolin, construction materials; innovate technology at the Thai Nguyen steel complex. Develop raw material regions for Bãi Bằng paper mills, Tuyên Quang paper mills, and export-oriented plywood factories; maintain and develop tea product processing industries in key provinces like Thai Nguyen, Phú Thọ, Yên Bái, Sơn La; milk processing in Mộc Châu (Sơn La) and various agricultural and food products in areas with established specialized cultivation regions.

3. Service and Tourism Development:

Strive for an average annual growth rate of 18% in retail sales and service consumption turnover, and an average annual growth rate of 16-17% in total export value.

- Strengthen trade promotion and brand promotion activities, primarily for agricultural products. Rapidly develop and improve the quality of commercial services, enhance trade exchanges between provinces in the Region and China and Laos.

- Upgrade and establish new trading centers in localities within the Region; complete domestic trade networks from urban to rural and mountainous border areas. Organize effective operation of commercial services at border gates and border economic zones. Develop high-quality service sectors such as financial banking, commerce, technology, telecommunications, transportation. Strengthen promotional activities for branded products, build and consolidate positions for new products.

- Emphasize the development and improvement of tourism products with unique features linked to natural wonders, cultural and revolutionary historical sites, and visits to national key projects within the Region.

4. Infrastructure development:

Ensure the synchronous and balanced development of the infrastructure system as a driving force for economic and social development in the Region, particularly the transportation system connecting provinces within the Region and linking with other regions.

a) Transportation development:

- Roadways:

Construct and upgrade national highways, provincial roads, and district roads according to planning; establish a road network comprising five radial axes: Hanoi - Lao Cai (National Highway 70, National Highway 32C), Hanoi - Dien Bien (National Highway 6, National Highway 32, National Highway 32B), Hanoi - Cao Bang (National Highway 3), Hanoi - Lang Son (National Highway 1), Phu Tho - Ha Giang (National Highway 2) and three ring routes: Ring Route 1 (National Highway 4, National Highway 4A, National Highway 4B, National Highway 4C, National Highway 4D, National Highway 4H), Ring Route 2 (National Highway 279), Ring Route 3 (National Highway 37) as a driving force for the Region's development.

Accelerate the progress of construction of expressways: Hanoi - Thai Nguyen - Bac Kan; Hanoi - Lao Cai; Hoa Lac - Hoa Binh and commence construction of the Hanoi - Lang Son expressway. Construct connecting roads between provinces and expressways, border patrol roads. Invest to complete rural road systems in remote, mountainous areas, and border regions, ensuring smooth traffic flow.

- Railways: Renovate and upgrade railway lines from Hanoi - Lang Son; Hanoi - Lao Cai; Hanoi - Thai Nguyen; Kep - Luu Xa to meet national railway technical standards.

- Aviation: Construct new airports in Lao Cai, Lai Chau. Strengthen small airports, specialized airports, and helicopter landing pads serving flights to remote areas without airports.

- Inland waterways: Upgrade and organize efficient management and exploitation of inland waterway routes on major rivers and reservoirs within the Region. Continue to renovate, upgrade, and construct new key ports on river and hydroelectric reservoir routes to serve cargo transport.

b) Water resources and water supply:

- Invest in a synchronized system of equipment to regulate and operate existing water resource projects effectively. Continue to invest in constructing new water resource projects, reservoirs, irrigation channels to ensure sufficient water for agricultural production and flood control in provinces at high risk of flash floods such as Son La, Hoa Binh, Tuyen Quang, Ha Giang, Thai Nguyen, Bac Kan, Lao Cai, Dien Bien.

- Construct river embankments and bank protection works along border rivers to prevent soil erosion, stabilize production, and protect national border sovereignty. Construct water resource projects linked with small hydropower plants to provide water for agricultural production, drinking water, and electricity for people in remote areas without national grid power.

- Focus investment and upgrade water supply systems to ensure adequate clean water for urban residents' needs; apply advanced technology and build sanitary water supply models for rural residents, remote areas, extremely difficult areas, and border regions in localities within the Region.

c) Electricity supply:

Concentrate on implementing and completing large-scale hydropower and thermal power projects within the Region; build a modern, synchronized transmission and distribution system to meet electricity supply requirements according to the Seventh Master Plan for Power Development.

Accelerate the progress and completion of key hydropower projects such as Lai Chau Hydropower Plant, Huoi Quang, Ban Chat (Lai Chau), Nam Chien (Son La) Hydropower Plants; invest in building Dong Phu Yen Pumped Storage Hydropower Plant (Son La) to supply electricity for the entire Region and supplement the national power grid. Synchronize infrastructure development for the transmission and distribution system to meet the increasing demand for electricity in industrial zones and the needs of the people.

d) Information and communication:

Build a modern telecommunications infrastructure with large capacity and speed to promptly support Party and State leadership and management, serve economic and social development needs, ensure national defense, security, social order, safety, and the needs of the people.

5. Develop cultural and social sectors:

a) Education and training:

- Focus on developing and improving the quality and effectiveness of education and training to enhance human resource quality for localities, meeting economic and social development requirements. Improve the quality of general education linked with moral education, cultural traditions, and personality development across all levels and grades.

- Continue to invest in material facilities and improve training capacity for universities like Northwest University, Thai Nguyen University, Hung Vuong University (Phu Tho) and colleges and vocational training centers in the Region; complete the program to solidify school buildings and teachers' housing.

- Reform training structure according to market demands; prioritize training local cadres and ethnic minority cadres in localities to meet the need for human resources to serve industrialization, modernization, and the cadre needs of the grassroots political system for localities in the Region.

b) Health care and people's health:

- Effectively implement national target programs in healthcare, focusing on malaria prevention, reducing malnutrition rates, maternal and child health care, and disease prevention. Proactively prevent, control, and eliminate social diseases and dangerous epidemics. Consolidate and perfect the primary healthcare network; intensify combined military-civilian medical work to care for people's health, especially ethnic minorities, remote, mountainous, and border areas.

- Continue to invest in upgrading and modernizing equipment for provincial hospitals, district hospitals, multi-disciplinary clinics, and health centers, village health stations in the Region. Construct high-quality regional health centers in Thai Nguyen, Son La, Phu Tho, Lao Cai to meet people's medical examination and treatment needs; complete regional-scale hospitals in Son La, rehabilitation hospitals in various provinces within the Region.

c) Culture and physical education:

Continue to build and basically complete cultural grassroots institutions and infrastructure for physical exercise training; preserve, restore, and promote the value of traditional culture, serving as a foundation for cultural exchange among ethnic communities in the Region; maintain and develop new cultural values, promote civilized lifestyles and new cultural families within the community.

d) Poverty reduction, employment generation, and social security:

- Implement comprehensively, effectively all poverty reduction programs and projects; create opportunities for the poor to access land, credit, vocational training, job creation, industrial promotion, agricultural promotion, forestry promotion, and product consumption policies; build poverty reduction models and focus on supporting poor households to develop sustainable production, gradually increase income.

- Develop social security, protect and care for children; mobilize the whole people to participate in activities caring for those who have contributed to the country and the "Repaying Gratitude" movement; pay attention to training, vocational education, and job creation for children from policy families; promote charitable and humanitarian activities, support the poor to integrate into society. Prevent and curb, do not allow risks of exploitation, trafficking of women and children to occur.

6. Scientific and technological development:

- Vigorously apply technology, invest in modernizing equipment and machinery, and technology while protecting the environment. Encourage businesses to focus on investing in improving production technology, replacing outdated equipment, and synchronizing technology in industries with regional advantages such as processing agriculture, forestry, and aquatic products, food processing, etc.

- Focus on researching and applying new scientific and technological advances in crop and livestock breeding, preservation, and processing techniques suitable for the region's potential, advantages, and ecological conditions.

- Invest in scientific and technological development, creating breakthroughs in increasing productivity and product quality. Establish close ties between research units and enterprises, production bases, and the people in applying technology to production.

7. Rational use of resources linked to environmental protection:

- Manage and exploit natural resources efficiently, ensuring the environment and ecological balance. Emphasize green economic development that is environmentally friendly. Implement sustainable production and consumption; gradually develop "clean energy," "clean production," and "clean consumption."

- Implement rational exploitation and utilization of mineral resources. Use agricultural land funds economically and effectively, improve the efficiency of existing land areas, maintain paddy fields at about 250 thousand hectares to ensure food security; fully utilize unused land for planting long-term industrial crops and fruit trees sustainably.

- Protect and use water resources sustainably; protect existing forest land area, enhance economic forest planting, protective forest planting, afforestation of barren hills, effectively prevent deforestation and forest fires; maintain and gradually expand the area of nature reserves and national parks.

- Collect, treat, and recycle waste centrally using advanced technologies, ensuring environmental hygiene. Build at least one solid waste treatment site and wastewater treatment plant in each province to process waste and wastewater to meet standards before discharging into the environment. Apply environmental sanitation standards in urban design, industrial cluster planning, tourism, and housing; strictly handle facilities causing environmental pollution.

8. Ensuring national defense and security:

- Plan and construct economic and social development projects, border economic zones, closely combining the two strategic tasks of economic and social development with national defense and security consolidation, building the entire people's defense and security system, ready to crush every plot and trick of hostile forces.

- Accelerate the progress of upgrading and completing border roads and border ring roads; invest in constructing border patrol roads to combine economic development with national defense and security consolidation. Gradually build and complete essential infrastructure in border communes, ensuring safe production and living conditions to complete the relocation of residents to border areas.

- Proactively grasp the situation and respond promptly in all situations; combat the abuse of religion and propaganda distortion by hostile forces, especially in key areas; actively prevent and combat social evils and drug crimes, smuggling, and trade fraud, firmly safeguarding national border sovereignty, building a peaceful and stable border with neighboring countries.

V. DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN AREAS AND ORGANIZATION OF TERRITORIAL SPACE

1. Development of sub-regions:

a) Northwest Sub-region (including Hoa Binh, Son La, Dien Bien, and Lai Chau provinces): A key hydropower area; develop mining and processing industries for copper, iron, nickel, and rare earth ores; grow and process special industrial tree products such as rubber, medicinal plants, fruits; raise large livestock, particularly high-quality dairy and beef cattle; grow and protect upstream forests and protective forests for hydropower projects.

b) Northeast Sub-region (including the remaining provinces in the Region): Develop mining and processing industries for apatite, iron, copper, gold, tin, bauxite, zinc, lead ores, steelmaking; grow and process grains, foodstuffs, forestry and agricultural products, medicinal plants, fruits, pig and large livestock farming; produce household goods, chemicals, paper pulp and paper, fertilizers, construction materials, consumer goods, textiles; produce and assemble electronic products, etc.

2. Development of economic centers along corridors:

- The Nanning - Lang Son - Hanoi - Hai Phong Economic Corridor, with Lang Son City (an international border gate) connecting with Bac Giang City and other cities along the corridor.

- The economic corridor route Kunming - Lào Cai - Hanoi - Haiphong, with Viet Tri city as an industrial city connecting to Lào Cai city (international border gate) and Yên Bai city and other cities along the route.

- The economic corridor route Hanoi - Hoa Binh - Son La - Dien Bien - Lai Chau, with Hoa Binh city, Son La city, Dien Bien Phu city and Lai Chau town as development cores, connecting to other cities along the economic corridor.

- The economic corridor route Hanoi - Cao Bang, with Thai Nguyen city, Cao Bang city and Bac Kan town. The economic corridor route Phu Tho - Ha Giang, with Tuyen Quang city, Ha Giang city and Phu Tho town as development cores, connecting to other cities along the route.

- The economic corridor route of the northern border provinces (including seven provinces Lang Son, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Lào Cai, Lai Chau, Dien Bien and Son La): Developing border economic zones, expanding economic and trade activities with neighboring countries; closely combining border trade development with ensuring regional border security and national sovereignty.

3. Urban space development:

Synchronously developing the urban system together with the socio-economic development of localities in the Region according to Resolution No. 37-NQ/TW dated July 1, 2004 and Conclusion No. 26-KL/TW dated August 2, 2012 of the Politburo and Decision No. 1659/QĐ-TTg dated November 7, 2012 of the Prime Minister. Developing the urban network in conjunction with industrial parks, border economic zones, commercial and service centers, and tourism, creating a tightly connected network between localities in the Region and linking with the Red River Delta region and the Northern Key Economic Region.

- Building Thai Nguyen city as the center of the Hanoi - Thai Nguyen - Bac Kan - Cao Bang economic corridor. Building Viet Tri city as the center on the Kunming - Lào Cai - Hanoi - Haiphong economic corridor.

- Building Hoa Binh city as one of the development cores of the Northwest sub-region, located at the gateway for interaction between the Northwest sub-region and the capital Hanoi and the Red River Delta. Building Son La city into a modern city with the cultural characteristics of ethnic minorities in the Northwest sub-region; one of the education and training centers for multi-disciplinary human resources in the Northwest sub-region.

- Building Lang Son city and Lào Cai city into two major economic centers at the international border gates of the Vietnam - China economic corridors, linked with border economic development and the formation of cross-border economic cooperation zones.

4. Rural and mountainous areas development in the Region

Concentrating on implementing the new rural construction program closely linked with national target programs for socio-economic development in the area such as population and family planning program, clean water and environmental sanitation in rural areas, poverty reduction and job creation, etc. Arranging and resettling residents in communes along the border to ensure stable livelihoods,安心生活，安心生产，不自由迁徙到其他地方。

Main economic and social development activities focus on agricultural production to stabilize livelihoods; strengthening afforestation, care, and protection of protective forests and headwater forests to protect water sources, ecological environment, and the safety of key national projects in the Region and the Red River Delta.

VI. LIST OF PRIORITY PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS FOR RESEARCH AND INVESTMENT (Attached as an annex)

VII. MAJOR SOLUTIONS TO IMPLEMENT THE MASTER PLAN

1. Priority fields for development

- Concentrating investment in building and gradually modernizing technical infrastructure systems such as transportation, water supply and drainage, power supply, urban infrastructure, industrial park infrastructure to meet development needs, especially the transportation network connecting provinces in the Region and adjacent regions. Accelerating the completion progress of projects mentioned in Resolution No. 37-NQ/TW dated July 1, 2004 of the Politburo, Conclusion No. 26-KL/TW dated August 2, 2012 of the Politburo, and the Government's implementation program of Resolution No. 37-NQ/TW dated August 16, 2004 of the Politburo; constructing and upgrading high-quality medical centers and regional hospitals in Thai Nguyen, Son La, Phu Tho, and Lào Cai; investing in material facilities and enhancing training capacity for Northwestern University, Thai Nguyen University, and Hung Vuong University (Phu Tho); completing the program of reinforcing school buildings and teachers' housing in localities within the Region.

- Improving the quality of education and training, vocational training, and developing high-level human resources to meet the needs of economic restructuring in the Region. Vigorously applying advanced technology in agriculture to increase productivity, product quality, and production value.

- Focusing on developing border economic zones based on promoting cooperative development of "two economic corridors" between Vietnam and China. Prioritizing the development of electricity industry, deep processing of minerals, processing of agricultural and forestry products, manufacturing and assembly of electronics, and construction materials. Investing in tourism infrastructure in revolutionary bases; linking the Region's tourism development with tours in the Red River Delta and nationwide.

2. Solutions for mobilizing and utilizing investment capital

- Striving to increase state budget revenue, strengthening tax collection efforts, strictly handling cases of tax evasion and trade fraud; ensuring accurate, full, and timely state budget revenue.

- Prioritizing state budget investment for projects without the ability to recover costs such as transportation infrastructure, regional medical centers, pollution control and treatment, essential social infrastructure; while balancing the budget to implement social welfare policies, particularly for the poor and policy households; strengthening expenditure control to ensure effective use of state budget funds for economic and social development in the Region.

- Establish and promulgate a list of programs and projects that require investment solicitation until 2020; on this basis, intensify promotional activities to attract investment from various economic sectors; maximize and effectively utilize ODA funds for the development of major infrastructure projects.

- Develop a transparent financial market; intensify socialized investment in healthcare, education, culture-sports fields to mobilize maximum resources for development.

3. Policy solutions

- Continue to improve the investment environment to facilitate the attraction of domestic and foreign resources for development. Diversify BOT, BTO, BT investment models, and promote public-private partnership (PPP) investments to focus on developing large-scale economic and social infrastructure systems.

- Formulate policies to support the focused development of industrial zones and border economic zones; develop policies to foster various types of markets, creating a favorable environment for production and business. Gradually expand real estate markets, science and technology markets, and create favorable conditions for legal advisory services, scientific and technological consulting, management consulting, and intellectual property product markets to attract talent.

4. Enhance the quality of human resources

- Formulate and promulgate policies to leverage and attract high-skilled labor to work long-term in localities within the Region, while accelerating the training of local human resources in line with the pace of economic and social structural transformation in the Region.

- Increase investment in education-training, healthcare, and culture to enhance people's awareness and health care. Strengthen vocational training, job placement support, and introduction through appropriate methods; implement vocational training policies for workers transitioning to non-agricultural industries; develop and implement plans to enhance skills for workers in industrial zones.

- Develop plans to train high-level technical personnel capable of participating in advanced technology transfer cooperation projects in biotechnology, electronics, information technology, etc., gradually enhancing the competitiveness of the economy in line with international and regional integration requirements.

- Expand cooperation between localities and research and training institutions; encourage businesses to collaborate with universities and training centers to enhance the skills and proficiency of workers at enterprises.

5. Solutions regarding science and technology.

- Focus on researching and applying new developments, achieving effective results in the application of scientific and technological achievements in production and business. Prioritize research and application of science and technology projects directly serving key products contributing to the economic restructuring of the Region, especially the application of advanced breeding techniques for crops and livestock, preservation and processing technologies.

- Encourage businesses to invest in environmentally friendly new technologies in advantageous industries such as deep mineral processing, agricultural product processing, and food processing. Expand collaboration and cooperation between production facilities and research institutions and universities to bring science into practical life.

6. Solutions regarding administrative reform.

- Enhance the effectiveness of administrative reform towards transparency and openness, while improving the quality of civil servants to create a favorable environment for attracting investment and efficiently handling administrative procedures.

- Formulate and promulgate mechanisms and policies in a timely manner to ensure the promotion of democracy, innovation, and creativity, making the entire governmental system function well and meet development requirements.

- Improve the efficiency of management and operation by government levels; clearly define authorities and responsibilities among agencies to eliminate overlapping functions and tasks, while strengthening efforts to prevent bureaucracy, corruption, and waste in the execution of state agency duties.

7. Solutions to strengthen cooperation and develop markets

- Expand cooperation in market forecasting, scientific research, technology transfer, and human resource supply between localities in the Region and the Red River Delta region to effectively utilize the Region's potential.

- Intensify cooperation among localities in the Region in investment promotion, expanding product sales markets; coordinate in promoting and advertising tourism, forming tourist routes; exploit, use, and sustainably protect water resources, and protect the environment.

- Intensify cross-border trade and tourism cooperation with China, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, develop border economic zones, and build peaceful and stable borders.

Article 2. Organization and Supervision of Implementation of the Master Plan

1. The overall socio-economic development master plan for the Midland and Northern Mountainous Region, after approval, serves as the basis for the establishment, review, and implementation of sectoral and field development plans; the overall socio-economic development plans of localities within the Region.

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall be responsible for organizing, coordinating with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities in the Region to:

- Organize the publication and publicity of the Master Plan, conduct investment promotion activities, and publicize to attract domestic and foreign investors and economic sectors to participate in implementing the Master Plan.

- Lead the monitoring, urging, supervising, and inspecting the implementation of the Regional Master Plan, sectoral and local master plans, and supervise the implementation of key investment projects with regional scale and characteristics.

- Study and propose coordination mechanisms, linkage policies, and regional coordination among localities within the Region and other regions. Lead and coordinate with relevant ministries and sectors to solicit investment for key projects in the Region.

3. The relevant Ministries and sectors shall be responsible for establishing and submitting for approval the sectoral plans, fields, and key products within the Region in accordance with the goals, tasks, and development directions approved in Article 1 of this Decision.

- Study, develop, and submit to the competent state authorities for issuance certain special mechanisms and policies as stipulated in Clause VII, Article 1 of this Decision to successfully implement the set goals and tasks in the Plan.

- Coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment in the implementation and supervision of the Plan, monitoring the execution of key investment programs and projects with regional scale and characteristics according to priority order within their respective areas of management to promote economic and social development in the Region.

Specific tasks for the Ministries and sectors are as follows:

a) Ministry of Transport:

Direct the construction and timely completion of important transportation works within the Region. Propose mechanisms to mobilize capital for large-scale transportation development projects within the Region.

b) Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development:

Complete the construction and organize the implementation of the water resource planning, key agricultural and aquatic products within the Region. Propose mechanisms, policies, and support localities within the Region in building high-tech agricultural zones.

c) Ministry of Education and Training:

Study and propose mechanisms and policies to promote collaboration between educational institutions and enterprises that utilize human resources; implement solutions to enhance training capacity for universities in the Region such as: Northwest University, Thai Nguyen University, Hung Vuong University (Phu Tho).

d) Ministry of Industry and Trade:

Ensure timely construction of power plants and electricity distribution networks within the Region. Coordinate with related localities in constructing commercial centers within the Region according to the Plan.

d) Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment:

Implement measures to enhance the effectiveness of environmental protection work, particularly urban and industrial area environments within the Region. Support improvements in the quality of environmental impact assessment report reviews at local environmental management agencies. Direct localities to use natural resources reasonably and economically, and implement environmental protection measures at mineral extraction and processing projects.

e) Ministry of Construction:

Inspect and supervise the construction of hazardous waste treatment zones and regional-scale water supply systems; coordinate with localities in building drainage and wastewater treatment systems in cities.

4. People's Committees of provinces within the Region:

- Proactively review, adjust, supplement, and submit to the competent authority for approval adjustments to the overall socio-economic development plan of the locality until 2020 in line with the goals and tasks approved in this Decision.

- Coordinate with Ministries and sectors to organize investment promotion activities, publicize, and attract domestic and foreign investors and economic components to participate in implementing the Plan.

- Organize supervision and inspection of investment development projects on their territory according to their assigned functions, and report to the Prime Minister.

Article 3. This Decision shall take effect from the date of signing.

Article 4. Chairmen of People's Committees of provinces within the Region; Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, and Heads of government-affiliated agencies are responsible for enforcing this Decision.