On the morning of February 15 (the 6th day of the Lunar New Year 2024), President Vo Van Thuong; Secretary of the Party Central Committee, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Do Van Chien; Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Quoc Tri; representatives of leaders of a number of central departments, ministries, branches and Tuyen Quang province attended the launching ceremony of the "Forever grateful to Uncle Ho" Tree Planting Festival in the Spring of Giap Thin 2024 in Kim Phu commune (Tuyen Quang city, Tuyen Quang province).

The Tet tree planting movement "Forever grateful to Uncle Ho" on the occasion of the Lunar New Year every year is a unique cultural feature of the Vietnamese people, contributing significantly to tree planting and afforestation, spreading the project "Planting one billion green trees" to help the ecological environment become increasingly cleaner.

Speaking at the ceremony, the President assessed that, together with the whole country, promoting the tradition of a revolutionary land rich in history and cultural identity, Tuyen Quang province has always been a leading locality in forest management, protection and development. He highlighted the goal of striving to develop agriculture and forestry into a key economic sector, contributing greatly to building new rural areas and socio-economic development, firmly ensuring national defense and security, and constantly improving people's lives in all aspects.

Tuyen Quang's annual forest planting rate is always among the top in the country: planting over 11,000 hectares of forest/year; forest coverage rate is always maintained and stabilized at over 65%; ranked 2nd in the country in sustainable forest management according to international standards; forestry economy develops strongly, contributing to the socio-economic development of the locality and the whole country.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Quoc Tri, in recent times, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and localities have been determined to bring the Prime Minister's Project "Planting one billion trees" for the 2021-2025 period to the "finish line" on schedule. In the three years of implementing the Project from 2021 to 2023, the whole country has planted nearly 770 million trees, reaching over 121% of the plan. The total capital mobilized to implement the Project in the past 3 years is nearly 9,500 billion VND. Of which, the state budget capital accounts for 23.8%, the remaining capital comes from socialization and other capital sources. Some provinces implementing the Project have achieved high results such as: Lao Cai, Phu Tho, Long An, Gia Lai. Ministries, branches and central agencies have actively responded to the tree planting movement such as: Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Education and Training, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Central Committee of Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union. Many businesses and individuals have also responded to the Program by establishing a fund to call for receiving and implementing afforestation and tree planting.

65 years have passed, but Uncle Ho's call for "Tet tree planting" still holds practical value and is deeply rooted in the subconscious of the Vietnamese people. Tet tree planting has always become a widespread mass movement, a beautiful feature of traditional culture. Spring tree planting has truly become an exciting festival, a meaningful activity that contributes greatly to protecting the environment and forest resources, helping people's lives become fresher and happier every day.