Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh has recently approved the national target programme on new-style rural area building during the 2021 – 2025 period.

Accordingly, the overall goal of this programme is to continue building new-style rural areas in tandem with the effective implementation of agricultural restructuring, rural economic development and urbanisation in an in-depth, effective and sustainable manner.

Also, the focus will be on improving rural residents’ material and spiritual life, promoting gender equality, developing uniform and gradually modern socio-economic infrastructure in rural areas, ensuring a green, clean, beautiful, and safe environment and landscape, and boosting traditional culture preservation, climate change adaptation, and sustainable development in rural areas.

Additionally, importance will be attached to effectively carrying out the "One commune, one product" (OCOP) programme, ensuring sustainable poverty reduction, especially in ethnic minority, mountainous and coastal areas and islands, improving the quality of education and healthcare services for rural people, preserving and promoting traditional cultural values ​​in a sustainable way associated with rural tourism development, boosting digital transformation in the new-style countryside, promoting the application of information technology and digital technology, and building a smart new-style countryside.

Among the detailed targets for 2025, the programme looks to have at least 80 percent of the communes recognised as new-style rural areas, with about 40 percent meeting advanced standards and at least 10 percent being model areas.

At least 50 percent of the district-level localities are hoped to earn the new-style countryside status, with at least 20 percent meeting advanced standards or named model areas.

In this programme, Viet Nam will also strive for about 17 - 19 provinces and centrally-run cities completing the building of new-style rural areas.

At least VND196.332 trillion (US$8.6 billion) from the State budget will be earmarked for the work, including VND39.632 trillion from the central budget and VND156.7 trillion from the local budget. A total of over VND2.455 quadrillion is set to be mobilised for the programme during 2021 - 2025.

Reporting by VAN HOANG – Translating by M.DUNG