The first Representative Congress of Ethnic Minority Groups of Ho Chi Minh City opened on Dec. 27, attracting 486 delegates from 26 ethnic minority groups in the city. The congress emphasized the need to further promote the role of patriotic personalities, intellectuals as well as people of ethnic minority groups and religions to contribute to the city’s development. Municipal authorities defined implementation of comprehensive socio-economic development measures and provision of better care for ethnic minority people as two of the city’s major tasks in the coming time. HCM City currently has more than 1,300 Party members who are ethnic minority people, up 154% compared with 2004. Ethnic minority people account for almost 12% of the total number of members of the city’s political and social organizations.
