Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Minh Khoi (Photo: VNA)The Party and State will double their efforts to
provide better support and assistance for overseas Vietnamese (OVs) in the years
to come, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Dang Minh Khoi.
Khoi, also Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs,
made the statement in an interview granted to Vietnam News Agency reporters on
the sidelines of the ongoing 13th National Congress of the Communist
Party of Vietnam (CPV) in Hanoi on January 29.
He said that in the political report delivered at the
Congress, Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong stressed
that in the coming years, Vietnam must make greater efforts to support
Vietnamese living abroad in order to help them consolidate their legal status,
integrate better into the host countries, and boost socio-economic development.
It is necessary to do the good job of protecting the legitimate interests of overseas
Vietnamese, and help them continue studying the Vietnamese language to preserve
the national identity, he said.
“ We must also better information work towards Vietnamese expatriates so that
they can come closer to the homeland, look more towards the homeland, and have
more trust in the country,” he noted.
According to the Deputy FM, last year, his ministry conducted fact-finding
trips to a number of localities across the country, including Ho Chi Minh City,
Hai Phong and central provinces and found that the local leaders had paid great
attention to implementing policies for overseas Vietnamese.
Especially, the localities have many initiatives to connect overseas Vietnamese
and those at home, he said, citing HCM City holds an annual get-together for
OVs to look into their difficulties as well as partly meet their aspirations.
These policies have seen positive outcomes and received warm response from Vietnamese
abroad, he stressed.
However, he noted that the 5.3-million-strong OV community is very diverse,
featuring many generations with different educational levels and economic
conditions.
“Therefore, Vietnamese agencies, sectors and localities need to have more
specific and flexible approaches to OVs so that they can contribute more to the
nation,” he stressed.
The Politburo’s Resolution No. 36 on overseas Vietnamese issued in 2004 has
affirmed that the Party and State always consider the OV community an
inseparable part of the Vietnamese nation.
Over the past time, many mechanisms and policies had been issued and
implemented to create more favourable conditions for overseas
Vietnamese.
According to Deputy FM Khoi, the number of Vietnamese living abroad increased
from 4.5 million people in 109 countries and territories in 2015 to 5.3 million
in 130 countries and territories in 2019.
As of October 2020, overseas Vietnamese from 27 countries and territories had
invested in 362 foreign direct investment projects in Vietnam with a total
registered capital of 1.6 billion USD.
From 2015 to 2019, the total remittances totalled 71 billion USD. The figure was
forecast by the World Bank to reach about 15.6 billion USD in 2020.
Overseas Vietnamese have always responded positively to calls for donation and
support for local people in overcoming the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic as
well as natural disasters, evidenced by their response to recent historic
floods and storms in central Vietnam, Khoi said.
The Party, State and Government of Vietnam always appreciate the valuable
contributions of the Vietnamese community abroad, and also want them to
accompany and continue making contributions to national development, he affirmed./.