Full text of speech by Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy at the 4th Congress of Ethnic Minorities of Nghe An Province - 2024

Dear Comrade Hau A Lenh - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Party Committee, Minister, Chairman of the Ethnic Committee!

Dear Presidium of the Congress!

Dear delegates!

Dear Congress!

Today, the 4th Congress of Ethnic Minorities of Nghe An province was solemnly held - an event of profound political and social significance for the Party Committee, government and ethnic people in the whole province.

On behalf of the provincial leaders, I respectfully send my best wishes to the Minister, Chairman of the Ethnic Committee, invited delegates and 250 delegates representing nearly 500,000 ethnic minorities in the province attending the Congress!

Dear delegates!

The history of formation and development of Nghe An province is closely linked to the process of settlement of ethnic groups from many different regions, creating a diverse community rich in identity. Throughout that process, the ethnic groups of the province have promoted the tradition of solidarity, the spirit of patriotic struggle, strived to overcome difficulties and challenges, and made important contributions to the cause of building and defending the country and homeland.

Thoroughly grasping the Central's viewpoints, guidelines and directions on ethnic affairs, in recent times, the province has issued many resolutions, directives and programs to focus on leading and directing this work; mobilizing and integrating many resources from the province's socio-economic development programs and plans, national target programs to focus on improving the material and spiritual life of ethnic minorities in the province.

Up to now, we are pleased to see that the appearance of the mountainous areas of the province has had positive changes. The economy of the whole region has continuously grown over the years. The economic structure has shifted in the right direction, with more and more models and bright spots appearing in effective agricultural and forestry production associated with concentrated raw material areas for sugar, tea, cassava and medicinal plant processing factories; eco-tourism and community tourism models in Con Cuong, Quy Chau, Ky Son, Que Phong... attracting more and more tourists, contributing to promoting the socio-economic development of the region, while gradually changing the thinking, mindset and working methods of the ethnic minorities in the province.

The socio-economic infrastructure in the region has received investment attention; the fields of health, culture and education have made much progress. The lives of ethnic minorities have been significantly improved; some urgent issues such as: eliminating temporary houses, stabilizing the population, converting jobs for households lacking production land, etc. have been effectively resolved; the poverty rate has decreased quite rapidly, from 17.24% in 2021 to 12.48% now.

Political security, social order and safety; national border sovereignty are maintained. Foreign affairs of the Party committees, authorities and people on both sides of the Vietnam - Laos border are focused on and increasingly go into depth. The grassroots political system is strengthened; the work of building a contingent of ethnic minority cadres is given attention.

Patriotic emulation movements have been actively responded to and effectively participated in by ethnic minorities, especially "Helping each other develop the economy, eliminate hunger and reduce poverty", "All people unite to build cultural life in residential areas", "Building new rural areas"... Since then, many typical collective and individual examples have emerged in various fields, being commended and rewarded by all levels and sectors. At the same time, these results have made a very important contribution to the overall development achievements of the province in recent times.

On this occasion, on behalf of the provincial leaders, I respectfully acknowledge and commend the efforts and achievements that the Party Committee, government and ethnic minorities of the province have achieved in the past time.

Dear delegates!

The 4th Congress of Ethnic Minorities of Nghe An province took place at a time when the whole province is striving to reach the target of implementing the Resolution of the 19th Provincial Party Congress; focusing on implementing Resolution No. 39 of the Politburo on building and developing Nghe An province to 2030, with a vision to 2045. Ethnic affairs and implementation of ethnic policies of the province face many advantages but also many challenges, especially in the condition that the mountainous ethnic minority areas are still the most difficult areas of the province.

Although the people's lives have improved significantly, there are still many difficulties; the poverty reduction results are not really sustainable. Political security, order and social safety in some areas still have potential factors of instability, which can be easily exploited by bad elements. The implementation of some ethnic policies in some places and at some times is not good. A number of cadres, party members and people still show a lack of determination to overcome difficulties and rise up.

I express my high agreement with the direction, tasks and solutions for implementing ethnic work and ethnic policies for the period 2024 - 2029 stated in the Political Report and the opinions presented at the Congress. The Minister, Chairman of the Ethnic Committee, gave an important speech, pointing out the key tasks that need to be carried out in the coming period. At this solemn forum, I emphasize and suggest some additional contents, namely:

With the ethnic minorities of the province, I hope to carry outgood at 5 things:

First thing:I hope that our people will maintain solidarity. Solidarity is a precious tradition of our nation, persistently built and nurtured by generations, with sweat, effort, hardship, sacrifice; with the will, strength and trust of the people. Faced with the rapid and complicated changes in the world and regional situation as it is today, more than ever, the Party Committee, the government and the people of all ethnic groups in the province must continue to promote the great solidarity bloc, creating strength to overcome difficulties and challenges, together building prosperous villages and a beautiful homeland. The strength of solidarity must begin with love in each family; the connection between clans; the spirit of mutual assistance, "helping each other in times of need" among households; brotherhood and sharing among villages, solidarity among ethnic groups...

Second thing:I hope my fellow countrymen will preserve the upstream resources. It can be said that with a vast space of over 13,700km², the mountainous ethnic minority areas of the province are home to diverse and valuable natural resources, especially forests, water, and minerals. This is the living space, living conditions, and daily livelihoods of ethnic minorities; at the same time, it is also a vulnerable area. Every negative and unreasonable impact in the upstream area has a profound impact on the environment and common ecosystem of the whole province, the whole country, and even the whole world.

Therefore, in addition to the responsibilities of all levels and sectors, I hope that ethnic minorities will always raise awareness of protecting forests and water sources as their own lives. Together, condemn and stop the evils of illegal logging, deforestation, and resource exploitation. Make efforts to change farming practices towards sustainability, minimize negative impacts on watershed resources, and contribute significantly to preventing and combating natural disasters and climate change.

Third thing:I hope that our people will preserve their cultural identity: Our province has 47 ethnic minorities, which means 47 different cultural values ​​and identities, creating a colorful, rich and diverse picture. However, in the face of rapid changes in the times, many of our people's beautiful cultures are facing significant challenges.

I hope that our people will always cherish, be proud of and preserve our nation's culture. That is to teach our children to love, speak and write the language left by our ancestors; to sing songs, dance, cook, and wear our nation's costumes in every important event and festival. Teach our children about diligence, hard work, honesty, and kindness; about patriotism, about national pride and self-respect; about the awareness of obeying the law. Encourage and motivate our children to study hard for a brighter tomorrow. At the same time, resolutely eliminate backward customs, superstition, heresy, child marriage, and incestuous marriage...

Fourth thing:I hope my people are confident, self-reliant, self-reliant, and overcome difficulties to rise up. It can be said that the Party, the State and our province have been devoting many important resources to supporting the development of mountainous areas. However, these resources are only the first step, a necessary condition but not enough compared to the shortages, difficulties and challenges here. To have fruit gardens along the hillsides, rare and valuable medicinal herb gardens under the forest canopy, large herds of livestock and poultry... the will and determination of our people to overcome difficulties must be strong enough, dare to boldly change and work hard. I know that many good and typical individuals in production and business who are present at today's congress such as Mr. Va Ba Dai, Mr. Loc Van Trung, Mr. Ha Van Duc, Mr. Vi Van Ky, Ms. Vi Thi Le Thuy... have also made efforts, struggled and worked hard, and are shining examples for us to learn from.

Fifth thing:I hope that our people will keep the border peaceful. Along the province's 468 km long border, in addition to the functional forces, ethnic minorities are the "eyes and ears" and "living landmarks" of the border area. I hope that each of our people will always uphold the spirit of revolutionary vigilance, actively participate in patrolling, guarding, denouncing criminals; participate in foreign affairs activities of the people on both sides of the Vietnam - Laos border, contributing to keeping "peace at home and peace at home".

Dear delegates!

Dear Congress!

In order for ethnic minorities in the province to effectively carry out the above 5 tasks, I propose that Party committees, authorities at all levels and sectors of the province seriously implement the following 4 contents:

One is:Continuing to thoroughly grasp and fully understand ethnic work and implementing ethnic policies is an extremely important, strategic, and long-term political task in the province's development process. Closely following national target programs and the province's tasks on developing ethnic minority and mountainous areas to focus on leadership, direction, and timely implementation, achieving high efficiency.

Two is:Continue to prioritize the allocation of resources to invest in and develop synchronous infrastructure, especially in transportation, energy, information and communication, trade services, healthcare, education, clean water, culture, sports, etc. to create conditions to promote socio-economic development, narrowing the gap between regions. Focus on innovating and reorganizing production methods for ethnic minorities in the direction of encouraging the development of key products with strengths associated with the "One Commune One Product (OCOP)" program. Do a good job of preserving and promoting the fine traditional values ​​of ethnic groups associated with service development, especially border markets, community tourism, experiential tourism, etc. Strengthen the management and effective use of resources and environmental protection.

Three is: Directing the review, adjustment, supplementation and promulgation of the system of legal documents of the province on mechanisms and policies for ethnic minorities and mountainous areas. Strengthening the management, inspection, supervision and monitoring of the implementation of policies, avoiding loss and profiteering of policies, causing loss of trust among cadres, party members and people.

Improve the leadership capacity of Party committees and government management; innovate the operation methods of political and social organizations at all levels; focus on developing Party members, especially in villages, hamlets, border areas, remote areas, extremely difficult areas, and areas at risk of no longer having Party cells. Take care to build a contingent of ethnic minority cadres. Implement well the democratic regulations at the grassroots level; further promote the role of village elders, village chiefs, and prestigious people to lead and mobilize people to effectively implement policies and guidelines.

Four is:Proactively and resolutely combat, prevent and strictly handle acts of taking advantage of freedom, belief and human rights policies to divide the great national unity bloc; effectively combat the activities of all types of criminals. Grasp the border security situation and security in ethnic minority areas; build a border with Laos of peace, friendship and sustainable development.

On this occasion, on behalf of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, I would like to sincerely thank the leaders of the Ethnic Committee and comrade Hau A Lenh personally for their valuable attention and support. I hope to continue to receive your regular attention for Nghe An province and the province's ethnic work in the coming time.

Wishing all delegates and comrades attending the Congress good health, happiness and success!

Wish the Congress great success!

Thank you very much!