Vice President attends opening ceremony of second Ninh Binh -Trang An Festival

Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan attended and delivered a speech at the ceremony, which also saw the attendance of representatives from central agencies, ministries, leaders of some cities and provinces, among others.

In her speech, Vice President Vo Thi Anh Xuan said that the Ninh Binh - Trang An Festival was a national cultural - tourism event and a distinctive brand of Ninh Binh,  aiming to connect heritages and inter-regional tourism hubs; promote cultural exchange activities and bring into play the values of heritages in socio-economic development of localities and regions.

Ninh Binh is rich in culture and history and is favoured by nature with  amazing landscapes and historical relic sites, especially the world cultural and natural heritage of Trang An, she said.

Promoting these values, Ninh Binh has reaped remarkable development steps, rising from an agriculture-based province to become a comprehensive developed province with prominent achievements in the fields of tourism, automobile industry, and agricultural product processing, the Vice President said.

It has become a province with balanced budget and contributed to the central budget, she said, adding that its GDP in 2023 is estimated to reach 7.27%, higher than the average figure of the country.

The province has defined culture and tourism as important resources, so that it has invested into upgrading, restoring and promoting cultural heritages.

The renovated organisation of the second Ninh Binh - Trang An Festival showed the province's resolve in promoting the great role of culture in local socio-economic development and contributing to the country's general development, Xuan stressed.

The Vice President expressed her belief that the province would fully promote its strengths, potential and unique advantages to build Ninh Binh into a centrally-run city by 2035 and become a leading locality nationwide in developing the cultural industry and a model of combining the restoration and preservation of heritages associated with green growth and sustainable development.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Chairman of the Ninh Binh provincial People's Committee Pham Quang Ngoc said the festival was a significant cultural activity, proving Ninh Binh's  capacity in organising large-scale cultural events and showing the colourful picture of cultural heritages of different regions in the country.

Ninh Binh aims to develop the festival into an annual unique and special event in order to promote, attract and expand cultural exchanges with other localities and foreign countries, he said.

Within the framework of the festival, a wide range of activities will be held in many localities of the province until December 31.

Translated by Nguyen Thuy