Addressing the opening ceremony, Deputy PM Binh stressed that the festival is a practical activity to realise the Party and State’s guidelines and demonstrate their commitment to preserving and promoting traditional cultural identities and caring for the spiritual life of the Southern Khmer ethnic people.
He reiterated that the Party and State always consider ethnic affairs as a strategic issue, and the safeguarding and promotion of the culture of ethnic groups are regarded as significant to the development of Vietnamese culture in general.
He asked the local authorities to pay greater attention to realising the Party and State’s policies on ethnic affairs, to mobilise all available resources to reduce poverty and improve the livelihoods of the Southern Khmer people, while preserving and upholding the diversity of their indigenous culture.
The three-day festival attracted Khmer people from 12 southern localities, including An Giang, Bac Lieu, Soc Trang, Ca Mau, Tra Vinh, among others.
Various cultural and artistic activities are scheduled to take place, including art performances, sporting events, and exhibitions on Khmer culture, along with trade promotion events, and food fairs.
There are approximately 1.3 million Khmer ethnic people living in the south, accounting for 7 per cent of the region’s population.
