(VOVworld) – A conference to review ethnic affairs and policies over the last 5 years and discuss plans for 2016 was held in Lao Cai province on Saturday.

Head of the steering committee for the northwestern region, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said national unity is of strategic importance in Vietnam’s revolution. He stressed the need to fine-tune policies and mechanisms to ensure equality and socio-economic development in ethnic areas. Vietnam spent 6.8 billion USD in implementing policies on mountain and ethnic areas from 2011 to 2015.