The Muslim Community Representative Committee in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang convened its third congress in Chau Phong commune in Tan Chau township on March 19.

The congress appointed 17 committee members for the 2015-2020 term.

Home to more than 15,000 Muslims, An Giang currently houses 12 mosques and 16 smaller Islamic structures, most of which are located in Chau Doc and Long Xuyen cities, Tan Chau township, and An Phu, Chau Thanh, and Chau Phu districts.

The committee has worked with local authorities in recent years to help the Islamic Cham ethnic group improve their livelihood, open Vietnamese-Cham bilingual classes at primary schools, and organise the annual sport and tourism festival.

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Pham Dung, who is also Head of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, valued the socio-economic achievements made by the local Islamic Cham people.

He also appreciated the committee’s efforts in disseminating the Party and State’s guidelines and policies on religion to local Muslims.

During the 2015-2020 tenure, the committee plans to uphold its achievements by continuing to foster school attendance and provide children with improved healthcare services. It will also call upon religious followers to engage in poverty alleviation and the Government-initiated new-style rural area building programme.-VNA