General Secretary and President To Lam worked with the Standing Committee of the Son La Provincial Party Committee.

Party and State leaders attended the working session.

Also attending were: Bui Thi Minh Hoai, Member of the Political Bureau, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, Chairwoman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front; Nguyen Duy Ngoc, Member of the Political Bureau, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, Head of the Central Organization Department; Tran Sy Thanh, Member of the Political Bureau, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, Chairman of the Central Inspection Committee; Trinh Van Quyet, Member of the Political Bureau, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, Head of the Central Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Department; Nguyen Thanh Nghi, Member of the Political Bureau, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, Head of the Central Policy and Strategy Department; Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra; Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Hong; and Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang.

The delegates attended the meeting.

Representing Son La province were Comrade Hoang Van Nghiem, Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, and Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation; members of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council, the Provincial People's Committee, the Provincial Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and leaders of provincial departments and agencies.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee presented his report at the meeting.

Comrade Nguyen Dinh Viet, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, reported on the results of the implementation of tasks. Accordingly, to quickly put the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress and the Resolution of the 16th Provincial Party Congress into practice, the Provincial Party Committee issued 9 projects and resolutions; the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee issued 4 projects and resolutions suitable to the province's characteristics, potential, and strengths; and established Steering Committees chaired directly by members of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, focusing on leading breakthroughs and major issues arising from practice, closely adhering to the core content of the 10 strategic resolutions of the Politburo in key areas with innovative thinking, a long-term vision, and high political determination.

In the first six months of 2026, Son La's economic growth continued its upward trend, but it was not truly sustainable due to numerous difficulties and challenges, especially the impact of weather. The province's GRDP is estimated to increase by 6.02% compared to the same period last year. The economic structure continues to shift in a positive direction. Agriculture continues to affirm its important role in the economy with a focus on green development, high-tech application, and increased added value. The entire province has established 9 high-tech agricultural zones, with over 31,600 hectares producing according to advanced standards. Focusing on accelerating the implementation of projects, the disbursement of public investment capital reached over VND 2,618 billion by June 30, 2026, equivalent to 55.6% of the plan assigned by the Prime Minister, ranking 8th out of 34 provinces and cities. The investment environment continues to improve, with the province approving 22 projects with a total initial registered capital of over 43,095 billion VND, five times higher than the same period in 2025.

Cultural, educational, health, and social welfare sectors continued to receive attention. Son La completed the program to eliminate temporary and dilapidated houses 5 months ahead of the deadline set by the Prime Minister; the poverty rate decreased by an average of over 3% each year. National defense and security were maintained; Party building and the reorganization of the administrative apparatus according to the two-tiered local government model were implemented synchronously, ensuring smooth and effective operation.

The implementation of the Politburo's strategic resolutions on science and technology development, digital transformation, international integration, private sector development, education, health, culture, and energy security has yielded many positive results, creating further impetus for local development.

The delegates attended the meeting.

Besides the achievements, the province also frankly pointed out some difficulties such as: Economic growth has not met the set target; investment attraction is not commensurate with the potential; digital and transportation infrastructure is still limited; agricultural production is affected by natural disasters and climate change; investment resources are still limited...

In the last six months of the year, Son La province is determined to continue accelerating the disbursement of public investment capital; remove obstacles to production and business; promote the development of agriculture, processing industries, renewable energy, trade, services, and tourism; and speed up the progress of key projects, especially the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway and the system of multi-level boarding schools in border communes. At the same time, it will continue to focus on cultural and social fields; promote digital transformation; maintain national defense and security; and build a clean and strong Party and political system…

Comrade Hoang Van Nghiem, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, presented reports, proposals, and recommendations at the working session.

On behalf of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, Comrade Hoang Van Nghiem, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, reported, proposed, and recommended to the Politburo, the Secretariat, the Government, and central ministries and agencies several key issues: Promptly approve the investment plan to expand the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway section through Son La province from 2 lanes to 4 lanes and allocate central government budget funds for the 2026-2030 period for implementation; assign the managing agency to invest in the CT.03 expressway section from Moc Chau - Son La - Dien Bien - Tay Trang Border Gate, approximately 182 km long, with 4 lanes; approve the detailed plan for Na San Airport to implement investment according to regulations. Research mechanisms to encourage investment in the power transmission grid; review, adjust, and update the power transmission grid plan for the 2026-2030 period through Dien Bien, Lai Chau, and Son La provinces. Allocate sufficient central government budget funds to implement Project 666 on stabilizing the population and developing the socio-economic conditions of the resettlement areas for the Son La hydropower plant; replicate the model of multi-level schools in particularly difficult communes, especially in border areas, to narrow the educational gap; and consider amending and supplementing some contents of Government Decree No. 305/2025 to allow border provinces to proactively balance and implement cooperation activities with partners from the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

Comrade Nguyen Duy Ngoc, Member of the Political Bureau, Secretary of the Central Committee of the Party, and Head of the Central Organization Department, delivered a speech at the working session.

During the working session, leaders of the Party, State, and central ministries and agencies spoke, clarifying the recommendations and proposals of Son La province, while also analyzing the difficulties and bottlenecks hindering the province's development and offering solutions appropriate to the local conditions to promote growth in the coming period.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Thi Thanh Tra speaks at the working session.

The Minister of Public Security delivered a speech at the meeting.

Comrade Head of the Provincial Party Committee's Organization Department delivered a speech at the working session.

Concluding the working session, General Secretary and President To Lam acknowledged the efforts and achievements of Son La province in the recent past. Looking ahead, Son La province faces many opportunities from the opening of expressway projects, high-tech agriculture, tourism, renewable energy, and better linkages with the Northwest provinces and Northern Laos. General Secretary and President To Lam requested the Provincial Party Standing Committee to focus on leadership and guidance, clearly defining the development model and position of Son La in the Northwest region. He emphasized promoting growth without sacrificing the environment, social welfare, and management discipline. He stressed avoiding the dispersal of resources and focusing on drivers capable of creating differentiation. The "4 economic zones, 2 growth poles, 7 development corridors" plan must be concretized into a list of projects, land allocation, funding sources, timelines, and responsible parties.

General Secretary and President To Lam delivered the concluding remarks at the working session.

General Secretary and President To Lam emphasized that Son La province needs to transform expressways into development corridors, not just roads passing through the province. For the Hoa Binh - Moc Chau expressway and the Moc Chau - Son La - Dien Bien route, planning for interchanges, logistics centers, processing zones, services, urban areas, and tourist destinations along the route is necessary. Simultaneously, agriculture must be reorganized according to value chains, overcoming the disconnect between raw material areas and factories. Infrastructure in industrial clusters serving agriculture should be expanded. Focus should be placed on key products such as Arabica coffee, fruit, tea, milk, and medicinal herbs. Son La needs to become a center for high-quality coffee, specialty coffee, and deep processing, while also resolving land overlaps with forest land, completing data on growing areas, and ensuring traceability to meet the requirements of the European market. Continue to promote tourism development, enhance the value derived from tourism, not only in terms of the number of visitors, but also by creating multi-day tours connecting Moc Chau, Van Ho, Ta Xua, Ngoc Chien, Quynh Nhai, and the Son La hydroelectric reservoir. Develop Moc Chau into a unique "ecological plateau" and a "national destination".

General Secretary and President To Lam, along with the Central Working Group, held a meeting with the Standing Committee of the Son La Provincial Party Committee.

Develop selective industries, directly linked to advantages, and remove bottlenecks. Prioritize the deep processing of coffee, fruits, milk, tea, medicinal herbs, and forest products, while simultaneously developing packaging, cold storage, transportation, and supporting technical services. For floating solar power, wind power, and new energy projects, consider the transmission capacity, dam safety, waterway transportation, landscape, and community livelihoods in a coordinated manner, ensuring that no project fails to utilize its full capacity.

Focusing on human development, education, population stability, and sustainable poverty reduction; thoroughly preparing for the 2026-2027 school year, conducting a comprehensive review of schools, teachers, equipment, clean water, and other necessary conditions. Constructing 13 multi-level boarding schools, ensuring they are ready for the new school year and operate synchronously; creating a clear improvement in the quality of teaching and learning, skills, and development opportunities for students in border areas.

Enhancing the governance and operational capacity of local governments at both levels, aiming to build a professional, modern, efficient administration that serves the people; promoting digital transformation and technology application. Maintaining national defense, security, border security, and the unity of all ethnic groups.

Regarding the proposals and recommendations of Son La province, we request that the Party Committee of the Government direct the Government and central ministries and agencies to study, coordinate, and support Son La province in urgently removing bottlenecks and difficulties, and prioritizing investment in infrastructure so that Son La can successfully achieve its socio-economic development goals and tasks in 2026 and the entire 2026-2030 period, becoming a driving force for development in the Northwest region.

Immediately following this meeting, the Provincial Party Standing Committee reviewed the Action Program for implementing the Resolution of the 14th National Party Congress and the Resolution of the 16th Provincial Party Congress, and the 2026 plan. Each objective must be concretized into tasks, projects, products, resources, timelines, and responsible persons. Strict adherence to the requirements of clear responsibilities, clear tasks, clear timelines, clear accountability, clear products, and clear authority is essential. Cadres must be close to the people, understand their needs, and be responsive to the market. The goal is to bring Son La's specialties to major domestic and international markets.

General Secretary and President To Lam presented a statue of President Ho Chi Minh to Son La province.

General Secretary and President To Lam and the Central delegation pose for a commemorative photo with the leaders of Son La province.

Reporters Team