FM spokesperson Nguyen Phuong Nga told reporters on February 16, “the Vietnamese State always prioritizes promoting socio-economic development in remote and mountainous areas in order to improve the life of ethnic minorities, including those in the Central Highlands, in all aspects”.

She went on to say that “in reality, the Central Highlands has been one of the regions that have enjoyed a high economic growth rate and the life of ethnic minorities in all fields has been further improved in recent years.

“Ethnic minority people who returned from Cambodia were not discriminated against but have been assisted to stabilise their life and reintegrate into the community”, she added.

“The Vietnamese Government highly values the Cambodian Government’s close collaboration with Vietnam and the United Nations Agency for Refugees (UNHCR) over the years in settling the number of people in the temporary camp on the basis of the tripartite Memorandum of Understanding signed on January 25, 2005 and its closure of the temporary camp on schedule as it had announced”, said the Vietnamese spokesperson.
 
On February 16, 2011, Vietnam received the remaining 10 ethnic minority people and returned them safely to their locality in the Central Highlands, she added.