Vietnamese communities abroad - a valuable source of the country



Ha Noi, Apr. 23 (VNA) -- The Vietnamese communities abroad serve as a valuable source of the country, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Bin, Deputy Foreign Minister said in his report to the ninth National Congress of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, which closed in Ha Noi on Apr. 22.

Mr. Bin, a delegate from the Party organisation of the sector of central foreign affairs agencies, affirmed the overseas Vietnamese communities are young but dynamic and developed. They are a precious internal strength of the country in terms of capital sources and human resource, particularly their intellect.

He went on to say that hundreds of thousands of foreign-trained intellectuals, scientists, engineers, economics and business people have been working in developed nations to equip themselves with knowledge and advanced experience. They, including a new generation of foreigners of Vietnamese origin, have become stronger and been gradually replacing older generations. The younger generations have a more objective view on the country's situation and become potential partners of Viet Nam in the near future.

In order to make a major and fundamental change in mobilizing the Vietnamese communities abroad, fully tap potential and make use of advantages of the communities in service of national industrialisation and modernisation, the official proposed the followings:

- Party committees at all levels should widely disseminate information on the Party's basic viewpoint on mobilizing overseas Vietnamese to help Party officials and members and ordinary people clearly understand the political significance of the issue;

- Future policies related to the Vietnamese communities abroad should reflect the Party's stance of considering the communities an integral part and a source of strength of the Vietnamese nation. It is necessary to eliminate all forms of discrimination on benefits to people at home and overseas Vietnamese, gradually create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese communities abroad to exercise their obligations to the country. Policies should be attractive enough to encourage overseas communities to return to do business in their homeland, thus contributing to implementing of the national great unity policy of closing the past and looking toward a bright future; and

- To conduct a closer coordination among relevant ministries and agencies, both at the central and local levels, pertinent offices at home and abroad, state management agencies and the Viet Nam Fatherland Front and other mass organisations to effectively carry out promulgated policies on the Vietnamese communities abroad.

Mr. Bin told the Congress that there are more than 2.5 Vietnamese people living in all parts of the world, mostly in western countries while a smaller group in Eastern Europe and Viet Nam's neighbouring countries.

He noted that despite many upheavals in the world, the Vietnamese communities abroad have continued to develop, gradually settled down in and adapted themselves in their residing countries. At the same time, they maintain fine cultural identity and patriotism of the nation.--VNA