Deputy PM Asks for Accelerated Production in Southwestern Ethnic Region

Deputy PM Vuong Dinh Hue highlighted the need to boost business production, improve the material and spiritual lives and reduce poverty for the people in the southwestern region’s ethnic minority groups and localities with droughts and saline intrusion. Mr. Hue, who is head of the Steering Committee for the Southwestern Region, made the statement at an August 23 conference on the ethnic, religious, national defence and security work in the region, and the issues of settlement and livelihoods for Vietnamese Cambodians migrating from Cambodia to Vietnam. Despite the positive results achieved in eliminating poverty, maintaining political and security stability, and exercising Party and State policies for ethnic groups and people with religion, the rate of poor households still remains high (according to the new poverty line), while there remain risks for complexity in terms of border security, domestic security and religious security, the deputy PM noted. The border demarcation between Vietnam and Cambodia has yet to reach the expected results, he said, adding that the negative growth rate in agricultural production has also affected the region’s political and security situation. Deputy PM Hue urged southwestern localities to continue implementing the government’s resolutions on facilitating socio-economic development, improving the business environment, supporting enterprises and accelerating public investment capital. The region should focus on boosting agricultural production oriented towards expanding the areas for farming and aquatic cultivation associated with applying modern technologies, aiming to ensure the regional agricultural production at positive values in 2016, he said. He requested localities, ministries and sectors to actively implement ethnic and religious policies in the spirit of the resolution of the 12th National Party Congress, tighten security in border areas and combine socio-economic development with maintenance of national defence and security. The deputy PM also asked relevant agencies to allocate funding for the southwestern region’s poverty reduction in the 2016-2020 period. Regarding the migration of Vietnamese Cambodians from Cambodia back to Vietnam, Politburo member Hue assigned the Foreign Ministry to work with the Cambodian side to perform all necessary procedures for the overseas Vietnamese to stably and legally live in Cambodia in the spirit of friendship and compliance with the native country’s law. (chinhphu.vn Aug 23)