VietNamNet Bridge – The Mekong River Delta city of Can Tho's Women Union yesterday, Jan 10, opened a consultation centre for those who marry foreigners.

The centre, the first of its kind in the region, will provide women in the city and neighbouring province with information on marrying foreigners.

They will be given legal documents, information on marital procedures and cultural and social conditions in the overseas country.

Centre director Huynh Thanh Thao said that services would be free.

The centre will also help to protect women's rights and prevent illegal marriage brokering.

This year, the centre plans to co-operate with Korea to organise a support programme for Vietnamese women who marry Korean men.

It will also offer loans and job training to married women who return home from broken marriages.

In 2009, nearly 2,000 women in the city married foreigners, mainly Taiwanese and Korean men – more than in any other region.

About 80 per cent of the women reportedly came from poor agricultural districts such as Thoi Lai and Co Do.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News