Hanoi will soon hold a dialogue with the business community to understand and address their obstacles to foster further development.

Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung at the meeting. Photos: Thanh Hai/The Hanoi Times

“The move is aimed at boosting business production and, ultimately, socio-economic development,” Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Dinh Tien Dung stressed at a meeting with senior officials of the city on February 15.

In terms of agricultural production, municipal and local authorities must ensure necessary conditions, especially in irrigation, so that farmers can timely plant their crops.

Dung called for Hanoi authorities to effectively mobilize resources to accelerate the disbursement of public investment funds and expedite key infrastructure projects, particularly transportation infrastructure.

“Another effort should be to encourage public engagement to stimulate a tourism and service-oriented movement throughout the city, particularly by enhancing the appeal of cultural heritage sites as attractive tourist destinations, domestically and internationally,” Dung said.

The Hanoi Party Chief reiterated General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's directives on the importance of Hanoi's culture, especially the requirement to cultivate cultured, civilized, and compassionate Hanoians.

Dung requested the relevant authorities to propose the drafting of guidelines on this task for early submission to the city’s leaders for review and timely implementation.

Overview of the meeting.

He also emphasized the need to strengthen the management of officials, civil servants, employees, and laborers at all levels to actively prevent and regularly remind them not to violate discipline, especially regarding working hours and the misuse of official vehicles.

Given the significance this year for Hanoi's implementation of the five-year socio-economic plan, Dung urged all levels and sectors, from the city down to the grassroots, to immediately embark on their tasks and work harder to ensure that "2024 must be better than 2023", thereby realizing the goal of building a genuinely civilized, cultural and modern capital.

Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Le Hong Son.

Tet for everyone

Looking back on the Lunar New Year festive period, Dung emphasized that the atmosphere in the capital during Tet celebrations was generally positive, joyful, lively, safe, and economical, with "every family celebrating Tet, every individual having Tet".

This outcome was achieved thanks to the central government's careful attention and precise guidance and the proactive issuance and early implementation of the city's Tet organizing plan, said Dung.

Echoing Dung’s view, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Le Hong Son stated that during the seven days of Tet (from February 8-14), the political security and social order in the city were well maintained, with no incidents of terrorism, sabotage, unlawful gatherings, or processions.

The city organized fireworks on New Year's Eve at 32 locations, ensuring safety; traffic flow was smooth, and the epidemic situation was closely monitored by the city's relevant authorities.

Attention was paid to beneficiaries of social policies and individuals with meritorious contributions. By February 7, the city had completed the task of visiting and presenting gifts to policy beneficiaries: 2,219,722 gifts were distributed to policy beneficiaries, with a total budget of VND1.03 trillion ($42 million).

During the period, Hanoi welcomed 653,000 visitors, an increase of 21.6% compared to the same period last year. Among them, international tourists continued to grow significantly, doubling year-on-year, with nearly 103,000 visitors (mainly from South Korea, China, the US, India, France, the UK, Germany, Japan, among others); domestic tourists increased by 12.2% with 550,000 visitors.

The total revenue from tourism reached VND2.35 trillion ($96 million), up 25.1% compared to the same period in 2023.