Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Ha Noi, Aug. 8 (VNA) -- Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Dinh Bin has spoken with a correspondent from the Viet Nam News Agency about new changes to Government policies applicable to overseas Vietnamese.

Asked about the single-price policy on transport and services in accordance with a decision signed by Prime Minister Phan Van Khai on July 31, the Deputy FM said the previous Government Decision stipulated that only Vietnamese citizens residing abroad and Vietnamese nationals holding foreign passports and having made contributions to national liberation and economic development were entitled to the single-price regime. Under the newly issued PM Decision, which comes into force as of Aug. 15, 2001, all overseas Vietnamese, irrespective of their nationalities and holding either foreign or Vietnamese passports, shall enjoy the same rate of service charges and transportation ticket prices as those applicable to Vietnamese citizens in the country, Bin noted.

He added that certified family members, including spouses, parents-in-law and children, of Vietnamese nationals residing abroad are also entitled to the single-price policy, covering service charges and travel fares.

Deputy FM Bin commented that the Government's new decision reflects the Party and State's concern about the Vietnamese community living abroad. The decision aims at gradually eliminating differences in terms of rights offered to Vietnamese nationals living abroad and Vietnamese citizens in the country. This should be viewed as an important step toward the exercising of a single-price regime on transport and services committed by Viet Nam in its regional and international integration roadmap. The decision reflects the Government's belief that it should issue policies to enable overseas Vietnamese to come back home and promote cultural, educational, training, scientific, technological, production, and business activities, thus contributing to national construction, Mr.Bin said.

Regarding subsidies for the transport of domestic newspapers and publications and the sending of performance art troupes abroad to serve the overseas Vietnamese community, Bin said that a half of the total value of transportation fees and travel fares for the above-said activities will be subsidized by the Government.

He cited the fact that the overseas Vietnamese community now wishes to be provided with better and more precise information about their home country through publications and mass media means, enjoy Viet Nam's traditional culture and access Vietnamese-language training programmes.

The Government has made great efforts to meet as much of the overseas Vietnamese community's information and cultural requirements as possible. However, the number of newspapers and publications and performance art troupes sent aboard in service of the community was very limited due to high transportation fees and travel fares.

Thus, Bin said, the new regulation of the Government is considered an important lever to boost those activities in the future to help the community better understand the country's situation and enable them to contribute to the preservation of the nation's cultural identity.

According to Deputy FM Bin, there are more than 2.5 million Vietnamese nationals living in all parts of the world, mostly in western European countries, a small group in Eastern Europe and Viet Nam's neighbouring countries.

Last year, 360,000 overseas Vietnamese returned home. Also in 2000, the community remitted USD 1.8 billion to their relatives at home.

At present, overseas Vietnamese investment projects account for a mere 0.1 percent of all foreign direct investment in Viet Nam. Only 15 projects worth a total of USD 56.1 million have been licensed. Trade Ministry officials said these investment projects are small scale, ranging between USD 117,000 to USD 19.3 million each.--VNA