The two leaders listened to their aspirations towards improving their production and business activities and other aspects of life.

The Party and State have adopted policies on socio-economic development in mountainous and remote areas, helping to improve ethnic minority people’s material and spiritual lives, said Mr Manh.

However, some areas inhabited by ethnic minority people still face difficulties due to poor infrastructure and training and ineffective use of ethnic minority workforce.

Mr Manh underlined the need to develop a proper policy aimed at training a contingent of qualified ethnic minority cadres, reducing poverty and narrowing the development gap between regions.

The Party leader called on all ethnic minority groups to speed up economic development and strengthen great national unity.

At the meeting, NA leader Trong said he was very happy to meet representatives from the 54 ethnic minority groups while emphasising that ethnic minority population play an important role in carrying out tasks of national construction and defence.

 The Party and State’s long-term strategy is to care for and improve ethnic minority people’s living standards, Mr Trong said.

The two leaders wished that the congress would give fresh impetus to common national development among the ethnic minority population.