Mr. Phuc stressed the importance of building the socialist-oriented market economy with special attention paid to social welfare and related issues. The bank has helped State funding reach remote and far-flung areas and needy people, he said. After 16 years of operation, VBSP has given loans to more than 34 million poor households and policy beneficiaries.

PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc (second from right) inspects Dong Giao company's vegetable cultivation, February 11, 2019.

Prime Minister Phuc also visited Dong Giao Foodstuff Export Company and witnessed a ceremony marking the first shipment of the company’s vegetables to Japan. Mr. Phuc said that agriculture can serve as a steppingstone to make Vietnam a high middle-income country before 2035.

“Sensor technology, automation, drone technology, big data, cloud computing, 3D printing and internet of things should be further promoted to modernize Vietnam’s agriculture,” Mr. Phuc noted. 

Deputy PM Truong Hoa Binh joins the annual ploughing festival (Tich dien) in the northern province of Ha Nam on February 11, 2019.

Also on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh took part in the traditional ploughing festival (Tich dien) in the northern province of Ha Nam, which  is a ritual to bring about for bumper harvests and prosperity.

The first Tich dien ceremony was organized by King Le Dai Hanh in the spring of 987. Mr. Binh said that Vietnam’s agricultural growth rate surpassed 3.7 percent last year, a seven-year record high. The country has become one of the 15 leading agricultural exporters in the world, he added. 

Deputy PM Vu Duc Dam visits the SJ Tech Vietnam Company in Bac Giang province, February 11, 2019.

The same day, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam visited workers in the northern province of Bac Giang on the occasion of the Lunar New Year festival. He handed 50 gifts worth 56 USD each to disadvantaged workers and environmental workers at the SJ Tech Vietnam Company and the Bac Giang Urban Project Management Company.