Official extends greetings to Khmer people on Chol Chnam Thmay festival

Kien Giang: Minister - Chairman of the Government's Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs Hau A Lenh attended a get-together to celebrate the Chol Chnam Thmay festival of Khmer people in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang on April 9. In his speech, the official extended greetings and best wishes to the Khmer ethnic community on the occasion of their traditional New Year festival, stressing that thanks to the attention from the Party and State, and sectors and local authorities, the material and spiritual lives of the Khmer people continue to improve, and rural areas gets a facelift. He expressed his belief that the local Khmer people and monks will continue to uphold their patriotism, promote national solidarity, and embrace the spirit of self-reliance, diligence, and enthusiasm in their labour and production efforts to build prosperous and happy lives. The official urged the community to make great efforts and stay united with other ethnic groups to complete socio-economic development goals of the lo cality for 2024. Vice Chairman of the provincial People's Committee Nguyen Luu Trung highlighted achievements by local officials, soldiers, and people, including the significant contributions by the Khmer people, and touched upon economic, cultural, social, defence and security situation, and key projects in the locality. According to Danh Phuc, head of the provincial Committee of Ethnic Affairs, the rate of poor and near poor Khmer households decreased to 2.68%, and 4.08%, respectively. Most Venerable Danh Dong, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha chapter in Kien Giang, expressed determination to continue promoting the spirit of solidarity and the tradition of patriotism, as well as developing the contingent of intellectuals among the Khmer youths, thus contributing to accelerating the locality's prosperous development. The same day, the Youth Union of the Mekong Delta province of An Giang also organised a gathering and gift-giving event for Cambodian and Lao students study ing in the locality, as well as for Khmer ethnic youth union members on the occasion of the traditional festivals Chol Chnam Thmay and Bunpimay in 2024./. Source: Vietnam News Agency