The festival was attended by the chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Ethnicity Minorities Council Kso Phuoc, representatives from centrally- run ministries and sectors, provinces and cities along with 500 Khmer monks and nuns from 13 Mekong Delta and south eastern provinces and HCM City.

The Mekong Delta region has a population of 1.3 million, accounting for 8 percent of the region.

 Over the past few years, as many as 3,200 poor Khmer households have been provided with land for accommodation and production and 12,000 workers have been provided with capital to purchase machinery. Thanks to the State’s support, Khmer people’s living standards have improved significantly with the number of poor households dropping by 4 percent per year and more than 80 percent of households now having audiovisual equipment and motorbikes. In addition many successful businesspeople have contributed to the homeland.

In terms of education, more than 3,500 Khmer students are studying at universities and colleges. Nine provinces have had boarding high schools at provincial level and 16 schools at district level with 7,000 pupils. Remarkable progress has also been made in culture and healthcare.

 In his speech, Mr Hung extended his best wishes to Buddhist monks, Buddhist clergies and all Khmer people and praised their efforts to overcome difficulties and join hands with the Party and administration to boost the region’s socio-economic development.