The Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha of Ha Nam province visited and wished the province a Happy New Year.

On the occasion of the Lunar New Year 2024 (Year of the Dragon), on the morning of January 31st, a delegation from the Executive Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Association of Ha Nam province, led by Venerable Thich Thanh Quyet - Standing Member of the Central Executive Council of the Vietnam Buddhist Association and Head of the Executive Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Association of Ha Nam province, along with other venerable monks and senior monks of the Vietnam Buddhist Association of Ha Nam province, visited and extended New Year greetings to the province.

Receiving and working with the delegation were: Ms. Dinh Thi Lua, Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee; Ms. Tran Thi Ngan, Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairwoman of the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee; and Mr. Nguyen Anh Chuc, Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee, Standing Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee.

The Executive Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Association of Ha Nam Province visits and extends New Year greetings to the province. — ***Delegates attending the New Year's greetings visit from the Executive Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Association of Ha Nam province.***

Also attending were members of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Council; leaders of the Provincial Party Committee's Mass Mobilization Department; leaders of the Provincial Party Committee Office; leaders of the Office of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation and People's Council; and leaders of several provincial departments and agencies.

On behalf of the delegation, Venerable Thich Thanh Quyet expressed his joy and excitement about the remarkable, rapid, and strong development of Ha Nam province in all fields. He also shared with the provincial leaders and delegates about the activities, development, and contributions of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha and the Ha Nam Provincial Buddhist Association to the overall socio-economic development of the province; their efforts in building national unity; and their collaboration with the Party committees, government at all levels, and the general public in building the province.

Speaking at the conference, Comrade Dinh Thi Lua, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, respectfully thanked the Venerable Thich Thanh Quyet personally, the esteemed monks and senior monks in particular, and the Vietnam Buddhist Association of Ha Nam province in general, for their affection towards the province. She also briefly reported to the delegation on some outstanding results in the implementation of the province's socio-economic development tasks in 2023.

Accordingly, in 2023, despite facing numerous difficulties, the Party Committee, government, military, and people of the entire province united and strived to gradually overcome challenges; achieving important and comprehensive results in all areas of socio-economic development, maintaining national defense and security; focusing on building a clean and strong Party and political system; improving the quality of operation of the People's Council, management and administration of the People's Committee, the Fatherland Front, and other mass organizations.

In 2023, the province's socio-economic situation remained stable and showed progress, with a growth rate of 9.41%, ranking 5th in the Red River Delta region and 8th nationwide; state budget revenue exceeded the set plan; industry, trade, and services experienced significant growth. The program for building advanced and model new rural areas was implemented effectively, with over 50% of communes in the province achieving advanced and model new rural area standards. Implementing the Ha Nam Provincial Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, the goal is to build a prosperous, beautiful, and civilized Ha Nam province by 2030, striving to achieve a relatively high level of development in the Red River Delta region; by 2050, Ha Nam will become a centrally-governed city, a smart and modern urban area; with a thriving economy linked to environmental protection; and the people of Ha Nam will develop comprehensively.

Furthermore, the province's socio-cultural sector in 2023 continued to experience many positive changes; Ha Nam was honored with the World Tourism Award as the "World's Leading Local Cultural Destination"; successfully organized the Ha Nam - Japan Cultural Festival; and continued to be among the top provinces nationwide in education. The security and defense sector also saw significant achievements, with the province successfully organizing a regional defense exercise; maintaining political security and social order; and becoming the first province in the country to achieve 100% of its target for issuing electronic chip-embedded citizen identification cards.

The province's foreign relations and investment promotion activities have also yielded many positive results, contributing significantly to introducing the investment attraction policy as well as the province's potential and strengths, and enhancing the effectiveness of directly attracting and signing cooperation agreements with foreign partners. In 2023, Ha Nam attracted 35 newly licensed FDI projects in industrial parks in the province, with a total investment capital of 549 million USD (equivalent to 156% compared to the same period in 2022).

Social welfare work has been given due attention and implemented effectively; care and support have been provided to the poor during the Lunar New Year so that no one is left behind and everyone can celebrate the holiday happily; many mechanisms and policies have been implemented for vocational training and job creation for workers… contributing to reducing the province's poverty rate to 2.11% in 2023.

With the achievements made in various aspects of social life in 2023, the Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee affirmed the significant contributions of religions in the province - especially the Venerable Monks, abbots, nuns, Buddhists, and the people. To successfully achieve the political goals and tasks in 2024, the Standing Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee hopes to continue receiving the support and contributions of the Executive Board of the Vietnam Buddhist Association of Ha Nam province in building a clean and strong Party committee, government, and political system; contributing to building a more prosperous, beautiful, and civilized Ha Nam province.