The documents of the 13^th National Party Congress emphasise the need to "ensure equality, solidarity, mutual respect and mutual assistance for development among ethnic groups; effectively mobilise, allocate, utilise and manage resources for development investment to bring about fundamental improvements in economic, cultural and social conditions in areas with large ethnic minority populations."

The documents also prioritise resources for infrastructure development in mountainous rural and ethnic minority areas, while highlighting persistent shortcomings in education and training, transport infrastructure, electricity and water supply, and healthcare services in remote and disadvantaged ethnic minority areas.

Against this backdrop, the new decree is being developed to ensure the constitutionality, legality, coherence and consistency of the legal framework governing ethnic affairs, particularly in relation to recently promulgated legal normative documents. The decree aims to ensure that policies clearly define their content, implementation mechanisms, resources and responsibilities, reflect practical conditions, and address previously identified shortcomings and obstacles. It is also expected to further improve specific measures for implementing ethnic affairs work and ethnic policies, while enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of state management in this field.

Director of the Legal Department under the Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs Phí Mạnh Thắng speaks at the meeting

The draft decree comprises five chapters and 29 articles. Its key provisions identify 12 groups of ethnic policies, covering areas such as investment and development, education, healthcare, culture, national defence and security. The draft also clearly delineates state management responsibilities between the Ministry of Ethnic and Religious Affairs and other ministries and agencies, promotes decentralisation and delegation of authority to local administrations, and updates terminology in accordance with current regulations.

At the meeting, representatives of central ministries and agencies proposed amendments and additions to the draft decree. Their recommendations included strengthening national defence and security policies in border areas, promoting the role of reputable persons in maintaining security and public order, and integrating economic development with efforts to consolidate the "people's hearts and minds" posture.

Participants also called for greater clarity regarding the Vietnam Fatherland Front's role in supervising and providing social criticism of ethnic policies, while recommending careful consideration of specific policy provisions in the decree to avoid overlapping with the legislative authority of the National Assembly.

Other proposals focused on clarifying policies for developing high-quality human resources in ethnic minority areas, as well as provisions concerning the system of ethnic minority boarding and semi-boarding schools and university preparatory schools. Participants also discussed health insurance policies for ethnic minority communities in areas that have emerged from poverty.

Regarding cultural preservation, delegates recommended strengthening measures to preserve traditional languages, scripts and costumes, introducing additional support policies for artisans, and promoting community-based tourism associated with cultural heritage preservation.

Further recommendations addressed policies on residential and production land for ethnic minority communities to ensure sustainable livelihoods, particularly in projects involving land acquisition and resettlement.

In her remarks at the meeting, Deputy Minister Nông Thị Hà highly appreciated the drafting team's preparations and the thoughtful and constructive contributions made by participants. She underscored the importance of ethnic affairs in the current context, noting that, in the absence of a dedicated law on ethnic affairs, the decree would serve as the most important legal instrument governing this field.

The Deputy Minister instructed the drafting team to carefully consider and fully consolidate all comments and recommendations, finalise the draft decree dossier, and submit it to the Government as soon as possible, tentatively in September or December 2026.

She also called on representatives of central ministries and agencies to continue providing feedback to further clarify the Prime Minister's "six clear" requirements for institutional development. In addition, she requested a continued review of specific policies, including those concerning clean water and land, to ensure the feasibility and effective implementation of the decree once promulgated.