The HCM City’s Ethnic Minorities Committee honoured outstanding collectives and individuals for their contributions in the implementation of the city’s ethnic minority policies in 2023. — Photo www.sggp.org.vn

HCM CITY — HCM City will continue to pay attention to improving the spiritual and material lives of ethnic minorities in the city, vice chairman of the municipal People's Committee Ngô Minh Châu said at a conference on Wednesday (January 10).

The conference was organised by the municipal People's Committee to review the work of ethnic minority affairs in 2023 and deploy new tasks for 2024.

Ngô Minh Châu called on the city’s Ethnic Minorities Committee and people's committees of Thủ Đức city and districts to focus on taking care of ethnic people during the traditional festivals of ethnic minorities and the upcoming Tết (Lunar New Year).

“The 2024 ethnic programmes focus on the effective implementation of ethnic policies in ensuring social security, and preserving and promoting the traditional cultural identities of ethnic minorities,” he said.

He also acknowledged and appreciated the efforts of the city’s Ethnic Minorities Committee, and local authorities and relevant departments and agencies for the good results of programmes and policies for ethnic people in 2023.

More than 450,000 people of various ethnic minorities live in the city, or about 5.7 per cent of its population, with the Hoa, Khmer and Chăm accounting for the largest numbers.

“The material and spiritual lives of ethnic minorities in the city have been improved, contributing to strengthening the trust of ethnic minorities in the Party and State,” he said.

Tăng Phước Lộc, deputy head of the city’s Ethnic Minorities Committee, said the city’s ethnic affairs have seen many positive changes, with many works carried out in diverse forms with rich content.

“The works help maintain political stability, ensuring security and order, and strengthen solidarity among ethnic minority groups,” he said.

Last year, the city spent more than VNĐ13 billion (US$530,115) to implement activities to celebrate the Lunar New Year, and about VNĐ2 billion ($81,555) for traditional festivals of ethnic minorities.

It provided financial support to 50 ethnic minority teachers teaching ethnic languages with a total cost of VNĐ500 million ($20,390), and to more than 2,800 ethnic students for tuition fees with a total cost of nearly VNĐ3 billion ($122,335).

Local authorities issued nearly 11,000 health insurance cards to ethnic minority people, built 72 houses for poor ethnic minority households, presented scholarships to more than 2,000 disadvantaged ethnic minority students, and provided soft loans to 615 ethnic minority households with an amount of nearly VNĐ28.4 billion ($1.2 million).

Several cultural and artistic activities, culinary exchanges, and performances of traditional national costumes of ethnic minorities were organsied to create spaces for exchanging and preserving traditional ethnic cultures and customs in the city.

At the conference, the city’s Ethnic Minorities Committee honoured nine outstanding collectives and eight individuals for their contributions in the implementation of the city’s ethnic minority policies in 2023. — VNS