Unleashing the potential and strengths of ethnic minority and mountainous areas

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh chaired the Conference. At the Lam Dong bridge, comrades: Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Vo Ngoc Hiep; Director of the Department of Ethnic Minorities and Religions Bui Huy Thanh chaired.

The National Target Program on Socio -Economic Development of Ethnic Minority Areas, Phase I (referred to as Program 1719) is the first large-scale National Target Program specifically for ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

The program has become an important decision in concretizing the policies and resolutions of the Politburo and the National Assembly on ethnic work in the new situation.

Program 1719, with the viewpoint that investment in socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas is investment for the country's sustainable development, is the most strategic solution to achieve the goal of gradually narrowing the gap in living standards and income of ethnic minorities compared to the national average.

The program was issued and implemented in a very necessary and timely manner, meeting the practical requirements and legitimate aspirations of the people, and was supported by the entire political system.

In the 2021-2025 period, the program has 6 basic target groups that have achieved or exceeded the set plan. Typically, the poverty reduction rate in ethnic minority areas reached an average of 3.4%; the average income of ethnic minorities reached an average of 43.4 million VND, an increase of 3.1 times compared to 2020; 54.8% of working-age workers received vocational training suitable to their needs and conditions.

The goals of education, preservation and development of good traditional cultural values and identities of ethnic groups, along with medical work in ethnic minority areas have achieved many clear results.

The program has effectively solved the problems of hunger eradication, poverty reduction, income increase, job creation, improvement of education and health care quality, preservation and promotion of cultural values. At the same time, it has effectively solved urgent problems such as: housing support, land, planning, and population stabilization in areas at high risk of landslides.

The program has laid the foundation, aroused the potential and strengths of localities such as: investing in building technical infrastructure (transportation, electricity, water); encouraged the spirit of self-reliance, self-reliance, not waiting, relying on ethnic minorities; significantly changed the appearance and material and spiritual life of ethnic minorities and mountainous areas.

These initial results have made an important contribution to the task of maintaining national defense, ensuring security, strengthening national unity, and stabilizing politics from the grassroots. The people's trust in the Party and the State has become increasingly deeper.

Speaking at the conference, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized that this is a program of great humanity, especially for remote areas, border areas and islands. At the same time, it is the responsibility of the entire political system.

Therefore, all levels and sectors need to have better ways of doing things, arranging resources, and allocating appropriate capital to organize implementation in the spirit of clear decentralization and delegation of authority in performing each specific task.

In particular, the grassroots government needs to be close to the people to change the way of thinking and working of ethnic minority people and overcome existing problems in the new period.

Units and localities also need to improve institutions in the form of innovation, prioritize resources in a focused manner according to specific programs. At the same time, focus on transferring science and technology, planning growing areas, and linking businesses to boost consumption of goods, serving the market with more professional and effective methods.

At the Conference, delegates also frankly pointed out the limitations and shortcomings that need to be overcome in the 2026 - 2030 period. Therein, focusing on groups of criteria that have not been achieved, removing difficulties in mechanisms and policies, as well as discussing solutions to implement specific targets of phase II...