President continues tour of northern mountainous areas   President Truong Tan Sang continued his working visit to northern mountainous localities yesterday with Cao Bang and Bac Kan provinces as the latest destinations. CAO BANG - President Truong Tan Sang continued his working visit to northern mountainous localities yesterday with Cao Bang and Bac Kan provinces as the latest destinations. In Cao Bang, the State leader offered incense at Tra Linh District's cemetery, which is the last resting place of more than 300 soldiers who laid down their lives in the war to protect the northern border in 1979. He also visited border guards based at the Tra Linh Border Gate. They are in charge of 27km of the borderline with China, 60 border markers, four communes and one town. He asked the border guards to advise provincial authorities on measures to facilitate the cross-border movement of goods and labour amidst growing trade relations between Viet Nam and China. They should also continue solidifying peace and friendship in border communities as well as their solidarity with local ethnic minorities, he said. At a working session with provincial officials, President Sang said Cao Bang needs to make breakthroughs to become a middle-income province and to further contribute to peace and friendship along its border. He underlined four local advantages that should be promoted, namely cross-border economic activities, agricultural product processing, mining and tourism. To do so, it is necessary to quickly upgrade infrastructure, including key transport facilities, to ensure the smooth transport of goods. In 2015, the local GDP growth rate was posted at 9 per cent while over 2,000ha of forest were planted - 27 per cent higher than the set target, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Nguyen Hoang Anh reported. On the same day, President Sang visited people and authorities in Bac Kan Province. He praised local authorities for their implementation of the state's policies. Talking to the province's staff, he requested that the province focus on its strength in forestry basing on the application of advanced technology projects. He also noted the importance of projects in forestry products processing and tourism. Sang also visited Heroic Mother Nguyen Thi Loan in the province. - VNS