At the session, leaders of the Department of Ethnic and Religious Affairs presented a draft plan of the provincial People’s Committee for implementing the second component of the national target programme on new-style rural development, sustainable poverty reduction, and socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas for the 2026–2035 period or National Target Programme 417 (Phase I: 2026–2030).

The component consists of five subcomponents and 17 specific contents to be implemented throughout ethnic minority and mountainous areas in Son La province. These include investment in building and upgrading infrastructure tailored to ethnic minority and mountainous regions; support for production development, livelihood creation, and income improvement for local people; human resources development; implementation of priority support policies for ethnic groups facing particular difficulties; communications and public awareness activities; and the application of information technology and digital transformation to support socio-economic development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.

Addressing the meeting, the Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee requested departments, sectors, and localities to urgently finalise their comments on the provincial implementation plan and submit them to the Department of Ethnic and Religious Affairs before May 20. 

He also stressed the need to carefully review eligible persons to ensure proper beneficiaries and avoid overlap. Resource allocation should prioritise especially disadvantaged communes and villages, remote and border areas. 

He further called for stronger coordination among agencies and units, enhanced inspection and supervision during implementation, timely detection and prevention of violations, avoidance of policy profiteering, and ensuring that the programme is carried out publicly, transparently, and in accordance with regulations.