Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc addresses the 2nd National Congress of Vietnamese Ethnic Minorities  (Photo: VNA)

The Congress is themed "Under the Party's glorious flag, all peoples are equal, unite, respect and help each other, promote internal strengths and develop together with the country." The event means the Party and State's recognition of ethnic minorities’ great contributions to poverty reduction, building new rural areas, infrastructure development, ethnic policy implementation, national construction and defense and international integration.

Addressing at the congress, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc praised ethnic groups’ enormous contribution to national development. He said, “Accounting for less than 15% of Vietnam’s population, ethnic minority people have made a great contribution to developing the country. Many glorious victories and heroes of the resistance wars live with us forever. In peace time, the Party and State have honored prestigious people among ethnic minorities in various forms. This is not enough to evaluate all the outstanding contributions of ethnic minorities to our village, homeland, and country. This is not an individual achievement of each ethnic group, but the convergence and harmony, a spirit of solidarity, sympathy, and bonding of compatriots or comrades. Solidarity is the source of strength for our great Vietnamese nation.”

Prime Minister Phuc affirmed that investment in the comprehensive development of ethnic minorities and mountainous areas is a fundamental factor to ensure national solidarity. He asked for best effort to basically meet people’s urgent needs, create livelihoods, and improve people's income and life, so that "no one is left behind."