The event was co-chaired by Deputy Minister of Home Affairs in charge of the Government Committee for Religious Affairs Vũ Chiến Thắng and Deputy Head of the Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs Hoàng Thị Hạnh, and attended by large numbers of officials from the home affairs ministry, the government religious committee and the ethnic affairs committee.

The meeting aimed to access results of belief and religious affairs amongst ethnic groups in the period 2018-2020, discussed remaining issues of belief and religious practices among ethnic communities and put forward recommendations for strengthening the coordinating work between the home affairs ministry and the ethnic committee in the coming time.

Deputy head of ethnic minorities committee Hoàng Thị Hạnh speaks

In particular, the two deputy ministers emphasized the information exchanges on complicated issues related to belief and religion in ethnic minority areas, strengthening of the communicating work on state policies on belief and religion in ethnic minorities, and the coordination in training on religious and ethnic affairs.

According to statistics of the government religious committee, there are currently over 2.8 million ethnic minorities affiliated with religions, accounting for nearly 20% of the population of ethnic minorities (Buddhism 8.7%, Protestantism 6.1%, Catholicism 3.7%, and Islam 0.56%). In addition, most of ethnic minorities in the country practice a diversity of folk beliefs.

At the meeting