minorities to overcome disparities in poverty reduction. The Socio-Economic Development Programme for Ethnic and Mountainous Areas or Programme 135 Phase II (P135II) aims to reduce the poverty rate in ethnic minority and mountainous areas to less than 30%, narrow the development gap between ethnic groups and other regions, promote market-led development and improve socio-cultural livelihoods for ethnic minorities. In developing policies targeting ethnic minorities, the Government of Vietnam applies the following broad principles:     Promoting equality, solidarity, and mutual help among ethnic minorities; Creating favourable conditions for ethnic minorities to develop and advance toward mainstream society and the common development of all Vietnam’s ethnic groups; Respecting the interests, traditional cultures, languages, customs and beliefs of all ethnic minorities; and Matching socio-economic policies with the special characteristics of regions and ethnic minorities. There are three general areas of policies that relate to the socio-economic development of ethnic minorities. Long term socio-economic development strategies and plans (e.g. the 10 year strategy and 5 year plan) guide the country’s overall socio-economic development and include numerous references to ethnic minorities including development objectives. National poverty-targeted programmes such as Programme 135 and the national targeted programmes on poverty reduction translate general poverty reduction objectives into concrete measures and include ethnic minority groups in their targeting. Finally there are a wide range of specific policies and programmes directly targeting ethnic minorities, including subsidies for teachers working in remote areas; scholarships 84 and free textbooks for ethnic minority students; teaching ethnic minority languages to officials and public servants working in ethnic minority and mountainous areas; reductions and exemptions of hospital fees; forest allocation, land allocation and land reclamation. UNDP Albania developed targeted approaches (“Empowering the Vulnerable Communities of Albania”). Evidence showed that Roma were falling behind other groups even in projects targeted at the poorest. The Government of Albania has prioritized attention to overcoming Romani exclusion, partly in line with European Union (EU) accession criteria to secure protection of minorities and also in conjunction with a regional programme, the Decade for Roma Inclusion (see section 12.5.5 of this Guide). The targeted project has proven to build good trust with the Romani community and has been a useful means for conducting advocacy around Romani issues. The project coordinates the activities of agencies working with vulnerable minorities and provides direct assistance to the poorest and most marginalised Romani communities at the local level. At the regional level, the project empowers vulnerable ethnic minorities to partner with relevant organizations and government institutions in facilitating access to social and economic aid programmes with the registration of marginalised communities. Minority communities partner with local government to address urgent development priorities in the poorest areas, supporting Roma to access property rights and receive documentation of land ownership. The minority group members, targeting women and youth of this community, participate in on-the-job training and vocational education. A network of health and police mediators is established to further secure the well-being of the Romani and Egyptian population. At the central level, the project supports the government’s work on social inclusion and improved governance, placing Romani issues on the national development agenda, and bringing M A R G I N A L I S E D M I N O R I T I E S I N D E V E LO P M E N T P R O G R A M M I N g