Second national congress of Vietnamese ethnic minority groups opens

Prominent among guests at the event were Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.

In his opening remarks, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh, head of the steering board for the congress, said the event is a vivid illustration for the solidarity of ethnic groups across the nation.

The congress is an opportunity for the Party and State to grasp the ethnic minority people's thought and expectations, thus creating consensus and strong belief in society in the leadership of the Party and State on the threshold of the 13th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam, he stressed.

Delivering the congress's draft political report, Minister cum Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs Do Van Chien underlined the standout achievements of the ethnic work since the first congress in 2010, including improved local livelihoods, more sustainable poverty reduction as well as better healthcare, education and security.

Particularly, ethnic minority people's confidence in the Party and State's leadership has been consolidated, helping strengthen the national solidarity, he stressed.

However, Chien said the work still showed several limitations such as still high rates of poor and near poor households, the existence of backward and superstitious practices in some localities, and deforestation for construction of hydropower plants that causes flooding and landslides in mountainous areas.

The official presented targets, tasks and solutions for ethnic minority affairs during 2021-2020, including doubling the average income per capita of ethnic minority people by 2025 compared to 2020, an annual three percent reduction in poverty rate, and under-10 percent poverty rate by 2030.

To that end, Chien said competent authorities and Party committees at all levels should complete policies and regulations related to ethnic minority groups and mountainous areas, promote economic structure shifting in line with local culture and practice, among others.

(Source: NDO)