(VOVWORLD) - The ongoing 2nd National Congress of Vietnamese Ethnic Minorities is an important political event, a festival of national unity and consensus. Its theme this year is “Under the glorious flag of the Communist Party of Vietnam, ethnic minority groups have equal status and unite, respect, and support each other to promote their internal strength for national development.”
 Representatives of Vietnamese ethnic groups |
The 1st National Congress of Vietnamese Ethnic Minorities was held a decade ago. The 2nd Congress is welcoming 1,600 delegates from Wednesday to Friday to promote great national unity and encourage production among ethnic groups.
Development gap narrowed
Over the last decade, the Vietnamese government has allocated resources to economic development and poverty reduction in ethnic communities. The number of poor households in ethnic areas has decreased 2 to 3% annually. Between 2015 and 2019, all ethnic communes were connected to the national electric power grid. Almost all ethnic communes now have clinics and primary and secondary schools. About 1,000 ethnic communes have met new rural standards.
Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung spoke recently about IT investment in remote areas. “The Ministry aims to ensure that all people living in remote mountain areas have access to the Internet. The Prime Minister has allowed the State Bank of Vietnam to pilot a Mobile Money service in remote areas so people can do electronic transactions. Vietnamese mobile phone manufacturers and network providers have cooperated to sell mobile phones at incentive prices of around 25 USD.”
 Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh meets with the organizing board of the 2nd National Congress of Vietnamese Ethnic Minorities. (Photo: Le Hai Son/VOV) |
The National Assembly has just approved a master plan on socio-economic development for ethnic minorities and mountain areas. Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh said: “The plan matches the wishes of the Party and people. Our goals are to develop the economy, reduce poverty, improve the living conditions of ethnic people, and narrow development gaps between regions. We also aim to foster trust in the Party and State and engagement in protecting national security and sovereignty.”
Solidarity for development
The National Congress of Vietnamese Ethnic Minorities will honor outstanding individuals and organizations for their role in national integration and development from 2010 to 2020. Hoang Thi Hanh, Deputy Minister and Deputy Head of the Committee for Ethnic Minorities, said: “The Congress acknowledges the profound contributions of ethnic minorities in poverty reduction and new rural development as well as in implementing policies on ethnicity, national defense, and international integration. The Congress will review the implementation of ethnic policies and affairs from 2009 to 2019 and draw lessons for carrying out missions in the 2021-2030 period.”
Vietnam has 54 ethnic groups with about 14.2 million people. The Congress will foster great national unity of all ethnic groups for national development.