Former president Nguyen Minh Triet and former prime minister Phan Van Khai joined top leaders of HCM City and other provinces, scientists and researchers yesterday to review the city's development over the past 40 years and discuss strategies and plan for the upcoming period.
The seminar, titled "HCM City – 40 years of construction, development and integration", was organised by the city Party Committee, People's Committee, and Fatherland Front Committee to open the 40th anniversary celebrations of the liberation of the south and reunification.
Most of the attendees as well as the 125 reports tabled at the seminar focused on the city's role as the nation's economic, cultural, educational, scientific, and technological centre and a hub for international exchanges and global integration.
Le Thanh Hai, Politburo member and Secretary of the city Party Committee, said the current happiness and wealth of the people were attributable to people who fought for more than a century against invaders and spent 40 years building and protecting the country.
Delegates agreed that HCM City had contributed much to shaping the nation's renewal policy and, in the last 40 years, faced many difficulties and challenges in the fight against economic exhaustion and hunger.
For the last 40 years the city's achievements had contributed to the region and country, confirming its centrality to the country, they said.
Hai said following its rapid economic growth the city contributed 30 percent of the Government's revenues.
"In the past 40 years the city faced harsh challenges in fighting backwardness to create something new."
But in comparison with other places in the neighbourhood, the city still faced shortcomings like low competitiveness, flooding, traffic congestion and accidents, overloading at hospitals, and lack of food safety, he admitted.
In her opening speech, Nguyen Thi Quyet Tam, deputy secretary of the city Party Committee and Chairwoman of the People's Council, said the seminar was organised to underscore the city's contributions to the nation's development.
The reports tabled at the seminar are set to be collected and published as a book.
