Mr. Do Van Chien, member of Central Party Committee, Minister, Chairman of CEMA; Mr. Ha Ngoc Chien; member of Central Party Committee, President of National Broad of National Assembly; Mr. Doan Van Tuan, Vice President of People’s Committee in Thai Nguyen Province; Mr. Dang Kim Vui, Director of Thai Nguyen University, Mr. Khammoune Viphongxay, Deputy Minister of Laos Ministry for Home Affairs and Mr. Khin Maung Yi, Deputy Standing Minister of Myanmar Ministry of Natural Resources and Preserve Environment hosted the Conference.

Attending to the Conference, there are: Deputy Ministers, Vice Chairman of CEMA, leaders of Departments, units belong to CEMA; leaders’ representatives and researchers of Departments, Institutes, organizations belong to Central Committee of the Laos Fatherland Front building the country, Laos Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment, Myanmar Ministry of Border Issues; Thailand Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare; Cambodian Ministry of Rituals and Religions; leaders of Bac Kan, Tuyen Quang, Thai Nguyen provinces; representatives from international organization, etc.

Addressing at the opening of Conference, Minister, Chairman of CEMA Do Van Chien stated: ASEAN community in general and the community of ethnic minority groups in specific are standing before opportunity in connecting, cooperating in the area to have sustainable and harmonious development in economy, culture, society, environment in mountainous and ethnic minority area. In many years, Vietnamese Government had a deeply concern, efforts in investing the total development in mountainous and ethnic minority area. As well as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar achieved important results in socio-economic development of ethnic minority groups. However, ethnic minority groups in nations are still the weakest group. Natural disasters, diseases, unemployment, poverty, etc. are big challenges of mountainous and ethnic minority area. From the reality, the Conference shared experience of each country, connected and cooperated aiming to fast and sustainable development in mountainous and ethnic minority area, area in special difficulties. With the hope of non-stop raise ethnic minority people’s living standard to come to the equality, unity, respect and help each other to develop. This meaningful event marks a new, more practical phrase of development in cooperating in ethnic tasks of countries in area.  

At the Conference, representatives were listened to Vietnamese experience in building policy supporting jobs for ethnic minority people; job opportunities for ethnic minority people in Thailand; job opportunities for ethnic minority women through the value chain of agriculture product; innovation idea for people in mountainous area and environment, land and natural resources – experience from Myanmar, etc. Nowadays, in the globalization, ethnic minority people are having many opportunities in development but facing many challenges, the Conference also proposed some changes to increase the participation of ethnic minority people in sustainable managing methods, environment, land and natural resources as well as provided cooperating idea in the area to support ethnic minority people in job issue.

The experience of each nation which was shared in the Conference shows the difference, diversity and big challenges in the developing process in mountainous and ethnic minority area. In spite of that, a bright future of area’s integration can be seen due to the goal of sustainably and harmoniously developing among culture, environment and economy in mountainous and ethnic minority area.

At the end of Conference, Minister, Chairman Do Van Chien affirmed: This is the first Conference sharing experience in ethnic task among nations in ASEAN area. The common point learned from the Conference is ethnic minority groups are those who suffer many disadvantages, the most vulnerable ones and need to be taken care. Also, Conference opened many new cooperating opportunities in the area. On the behalf of CEMA of the Republic Socialist of Vietnam, Minister, Chairman committed to continue to give more specific concern to Vietnamese mountainous and ethnic minority area based on basic principal and the most precious experience of Vietnam in developing ethnic minority area: “Equality, Unity, Respect and Help each other to develop”. CEMA committed to continue to increase the bilateral relations as a member that have responsibility to general issues in ethnic tasks, goals developing sustainably in ASEAN’s mountainous and ethnic minority area. Minister, Chairman Do Van Chien emphasized the message: “No one is left behind”.