The 5^th Khmer ethnic minority Culture, Sports and Tourism Festival, with the theme 'integration and development', opened at Tinh Binh industrial park in An Giang province on Friday. Deputy Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism, Ho Anh Tuan spoke highly of the significance of the festival in the spiritual life of local people: “The festival of Khmer people echoes with other ethnic minority groups to contribute to preserving the cultural identities typical of each groups and ensuring socio-economic development and strengthening security and defense”. A wide range of activities are scheduled during the four-day festival including folk games, such as tug of war, stick pushing and boat racing, and a fashion show featuring the traditional costumes of Vietnam's 54 ethnic minority groups.