The 10^th National Party Congress approved many important issues and further confirmed that ethnic minority issues and ethnic unity has a long-term strategic position in Vietnam’s revolutionary cause. It said that further efforts should be made to care for the material and spiritual lives of ethnic minorities, helping them develop economic activities, reduce poverty, improve general knowledge, preserve and promote cultural identities, languages and written languages and fine traditions. The strategy on socio-economic development in mountainous, remote, inaccessible, border and former revolutionary base areas, including sedentary farming and building new economic zones must be effectively realised. The political system in ethnic minority-inhabited areas must be consolidated and improved. The role of typical people in ethnic minority groups must be encouraged and promoted and priority must be given to education and training of officials and intellectuals of minority origins.

With the issuance of correct resolutions and decisions, important achievements have been obtained in mountainous and ethnic minority-inhabited areas in all spheres, particularly since the beginning of the national renewal process.

1. Economic development: over the last 12 years, minority-inhabited provinces have obtained an annual GDP growth rate of between 8 and 10 per cent. The economy has been restructured by reducing the proportion of agriculture and forestry and increasing the proportion of industry, construction, trade and services.

2. Social development: All communes in the country have basically completed primary education popularisation among children of these ages, and all remote villages have classes on the spot. Health stations are available in more than 95 percent of mountainous, remote and inaccessible communes to provide healthcare for ethnic minority people. Health stations in many communes and villages are staffed by medical doctors, assistant doctors, senior nurses and midwives. Medicine cabinets have been established and medical facilities have been provided.

3. Personnel organisation and training: The Government has paid particular attention to the training of officials of minority origin working in provinces, districts and communes mainly inhabited by ethnic minorities, helping them to improve knowledge and working skills. The rate of National Assembly deputies of ethnic minority origin increased from 10.2 percent in the first term to 17.2 percent in the 11^th term, and ethnic minorities made up nearly 10 percent of the 10^th Party Central Committee membership. Staff of the political system in minority-inhabited areas have been positively developed. They have a strong attachment to the people and have better realised their tasks in areas such as mobilising ethnic minority people in implementing socio-economic development plans, and in efforts to reduce poverty, develop a cultural life, maintain social order and safety, national defence and security.

Under the Party leadership, over the last 60 years, ethnic minority-related efforts have achieved good results, further realising tasks assigned by the Party Central Committee and the Government. The issuance of relevant resolutions and decisions by our Party and State recently showed important progress in this field. This is the outcome of both theoretical thinking and practical activities in order to meet the needs of ethnic minorities and - issues related to mountainous areas in the country’s new development period.