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| NA Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong (C) speaks at the workshop (Photo: VNA) |
While the lives of people in ethnic minority and mountainous areas have improved over the years, efforts must be made to preserve their unique cultural identities, a top lawmaker has said.
Over the years, the Party and the State have paid special attention to development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, Vice Chairwoman of the National Assembly Tong Thi Phong said at a workshop on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in the Central Highlands and central coastal provinces, which was held in Dak Lak province on January 13.
These efforts have improved the lives of people in such areas, strengthened national security and defense and raised the political position of ethnic minorities, she said.
However, the legislator said, these areas are still in difficult conditions and there are big gaps in socio-economic development between regions.
Development poses many challenges for ethnic minority areas, especially employment, poverty, environmental protection and protecting cultural spaces aimed to preserve the unique traditional cultural values of ethnic groups, she said.
She emphasized that the Central Highlands and central coastal provinces have a particularly important position in terms of socio-economic, defense, security and environment for the country.
According to the NA Vice Chairwoman, the approval of the Master Plan on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in 2021-2030 and the passing of a resolution on the national target program on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas during 2021-2030 are very important.
“It is a driving force for ethnic minority people in the cause of poverty reduction, sustainable socio-economic development in harmony with the overall development of the country,” Phong said.
The National Assembly on May 19, 2020 passed a resolution on the national target program on socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas during 2021-2030, aimed at improving the livelihoods of ethnic minority groups.
The program sets a target of doubling the income per capita of people from ethnic minority groups in the next five years compared to the current rate from 1.1 million VND to 2.2 million VND (47-95 USD) per month per person.
By 2025, it aims to improve infrastructure, create jobs and address the pressing issues of more than 16,100 households from ethnic minority groups and disadvantaged ethnic groups.
By 2030, the income per capita of people from ethnic minority groups is hoped to be raised to half of the national average. The program also aims to cut the number of poor households to less than 10 per cent of the total number of households, with no hamlets or communes in extremely difficult conditions and 70 per cent of communes in ethnic minority and mountainous areas meeting new rural area criteria.
The lawmaker suggested a number of solutions for ethnic minorities in the Central Highlands and coastal central provinces to develop rapidly and sustainably.
Issues related to land and employment should be solved to enhance ethnic minorities' incomes, she said, adding that cultural and education development should prioritize ethnic minority people.
Phong said special policies dedicated to improving education among minorities must be issued. She also mentioned the need to ensure they enjoy free healthcare services.
It is essential to focus on training human resources for ethnic minority and mountainous regions, maintaining a certain rate of ethnic minorities among cadres in those localities.
Participants at the conference discussed several issues including how to secure resources and supervise State budget investment for the program. The perseveration of traditional cultural values of ethnic minority people as well as how to deal with illegal migration were also discussed at the meeting.
