The Government Ethnic Minorities Committee held a conference in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai on June 29 to review five years of the ethnic minority household resettlement policy according to Government Decision No.33/Q?-TTg. Politburo member and Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc chaired the conference. In the past five years, the Ethnic Minorities Committee (EMC) allocated VND1,253 billion (about $60 million) to carry out 297 projects to resettle 9,827 ethnic minority families. During that time, 46,187 people immigrated and were resettled, and 3,357 households have been granted land-use rights certificates, reclaiming nearly 9,000 hectares of residential and agricultural land. Speaking at the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Phuc praised the EMC's efforts to implement the Government decision. He also urged relevant agencies and local authorities to deploy more practical support projects to help ethnic households improve their living conditions, reduce poverty, develop production and contribute to maintaining political security, social order and public safety. (Jun 30)
