On Monday, the Ministry of Ethnic Affairs and Religion hosted a national conference on economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas (2021-2025) and outlined plans for the 2026-2030 phase.
According to a report from the Ministry of Ethnic Affairs and Religion, the total central budget disbursed for the implementation of the national target programme for socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the 2021-2025 period has surpassed VND48 trillion (USD1.94 billion), fulfilling 72.6 percent of the target.
Minister of Ethnic Affairs and Religion Dao Ngoc Dung (Photo by Trung Thi)
The programme has played a vital role in driving economic restructuring and reducing poverty. The poverty rate in ethnic minority areas has fallen by nearly 4 percent annually, outpacing the national average and narrowing the development gap between regions.
Minister Dao Ngoc Dung emphasised the need to promote equality, solidarity, and mutual support among ethnic groups, encouraging self-reliance and resilience to drive socio-economic development and achieve sustainable, multidimensional poverty reduction.
As for religion, it is essential to ensure and respect the people's right to freedom of belief and religion, foster unity among religious organisations and followers, and encourage them to live faithfully while contributing to national solidarity and patriotic movements.
Dung added that this year, the country will try to remove 400,000 temporary and dilapidated houses for poor and near-poor households. In addition to the state budget, around VND6.5 trillion has been mobilised from other sources.
Dung noted that the elimination of 400,000 temporary homes is expected to be completed by October 31 this year, three months ahead of schedule. If achieved, this would mark a remarkable milestone, greatly benefiting the people and accomplishing the target five years earlier than the timeline set by Resolution 42.
The minister said Vietnam is striving to ensure that by 2030, there will be no poor households nationwide.
