Vietnam considering visa exemption for diaspora
Vietnam would decide on visa exemption for Vietnamese holding foreign passports as soon as possible, President Nguyen Minh Triet said Friday.
Speaking to over 1,000 Vietnamese expatriates at a meeting in Hanoi, he said the government appreciated their contributions to the homeland.
The Vietnamese diaspora worldwide had played a major role in the country’s achievements in the past few decades.
Vietnam wanted its overseas brethren to join hands in building a strong, prosperous, equitable, democratic, and civilized country, regardless of the reasons behind their departure, their ethnicity, religious beliefs, social status.
On behalf of the overseas Vietnamese community, Nguyen Xuan Oanh, who lives in Thailand, expressed a desire to make a greater contribution to national development.
Triet presented the Independence Order, First Class, to the Vietnamese expatriate community in Thailand for its contribution to national defense.
The Foreign Ministry honored Le Phan Hoai Bich from Australia, Tran Van Dang from the Czech Republic, Phuong Thuc Tai from the US, Nguyen Dang Hung from Belgium, and Bui Van Tuyen from France for their efforts to promote a sense of community between their adopted countries and homeland.
The get-together, called Homeland Spring, organized by the Foreign Ministry's Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee, and Vietnam Television, is an annual event.
The Committee for Overseas Vietnamese estimated that some 150,000 Vietnamese expats would come home for Tet this year, 20 percent more than last year.
VNA
