The Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs proposed a fund of 39.4 trillion VND (1.806 billion USD) for Programme 135 from 2016-2020 during a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh on July 2.

Programme 135 for the 2016-2026 is to improve infrastructure and boost production capacity in extremely disadvantaged areas including border communes, communes in war safety zones and extremely disadvantaged hamlets.

The committee proposed that the programme focus on three areas from 2016-2020: investing in infrastructure, boosting production capability and improving capacity of community and grassroots employees benefitting from the programme.

The committee also suggested the Government allocate 56.9 trillion VND (2.610 billion USD) for policies supporting social-economic development.

Addressing the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Van Ninh said that the 135 programme has achieved encouraging results in the past years, helping reduce the country’s poverty rate to 5.97 percent in 2014.

He asked the committee to review policies and make adjustments to avoid overlapping and increase effectiveness.

From 2011-2015, the total capital of for the implementation of ethnic affairs policies presided over by the committee amounted to 24.57 trillion VND (1.13 billion USD).

He instructed the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to allocate more capital from the National Target Programme on New Rural Development to impoverished communes.-VNA