Hanoi, August 14, 2025 – The Europe Today: Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính has urged a shift in mindset, stronger decentralisation, and more targeted investment to accelerate socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.
Speaking at the national conference on Wednesday — connected to 34 provinces and cities — the Prime Minister reviewed the implementation of the National Target Programme on socio-economic development in ethnic and mountainous areas for 2021–2025, and outlined priorities for the 2026–2030 period.
He stressed that the programme is not only a political and administrative responsibility, but also a mandate from the heart, reflecting a deep humanitarian spirit towards communities still facing severe shortages in transport, education, healthcare, and sanitation infrastructure.
While noting significant achievements, PM Chính said implementation had been fragmented and lacked cohesion. He called on delegates to assess results frankly, draw lessons from shortcomings, and propose practical measures to ensure greater impact in the next phase.
Approved in 2020 with a budget of over VNĐ137 trillion (US$5.21 billion) for 2021–2025, the programme targets 53 ethnic groups with a population of more than 14.4 million across 32 provinces and cities, covering three-quarters of the country’s territory. Projects span housing, land, water, resettlement, sustainable agriculture, infrastructure, education, cultural preservation, healthcare, gender equality, and support for particularly disadvantaged groups.
Over the past five years, the programme has provided housing for more than 42,500 households, productive land for over 13,000 households, and clean water for nearly 500,000 people. It has financed 6,000 rural transport projects, paved more than 8,600km of roads, built 1,787 community houses, upgraded 183 commune health stations, and improved hundreds of schools.
In vocational training, more than 115,000 workers received skills training via over 1,900 models, while nearly 5,400 individuals completed skills and language courses for overseas employment. Over 37,700 people benefited from job counselling and labour export support, and more than 8,400 grassroots workers were trained in labour export.
Cultural initiatives have included the restoration of 48 traditional villages, the development of 69 ethnic tourism destinations, construction or upgrading of more than 4,400 cultural and sports facilities, and preservation of 124 traditional festivals. Nearly 700 folklore clubs and over 5,700 village cultural troupes received support.
Poverty in ethnic minority areas has fallen by an average of 3.4% annually, exceeding the target of 3.2%. Per capita income has risen to VNĐ43.4 million (US$1,650), more than triple the 2020 level.
However, the Prime Minister acknowledged that several targets remain unmet, including improvements to school infrastructure, full broadcast coverage, and the removal of communes from the list of especially difficult areas.
For the 2026–2030 phase, the focus will be on closing these gaps while sustaining and expanding progress. Key priorities will include essential infrastructure, income growth, narrowing the development gap, resolving urgent local issues, and supporting the most disadvantaged groups.
PM Chính emphasised the importance of close coordination between the State, businesses, banks, and communities, along with the application of science and technology to create signature products and deliver tangible benefits for ethnic and mountainous communities.
