On the evening of Sept. 21 local time in New York, Party Chief and President To Lam and a high-ranking Vietnamese delegation attended the cultural and artistic event “Vietnam: A Journey Through the Homeland in Cinema and Music” and met with members of the Vietnamese community in the US.

More than 2,000 people attended the event, including United Nations officials, American and international guests, and representatives of the Vietnamese community across the US.

According to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), To Lam said he was pleased to see the Vietnamese community in the US continuing to grow, becoming increasingly dynamic and well integrated, while making positive contributions to their local communities and helping advance friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and the US.

He said relations between the two countries have grown increasingly broad and substantive, spanning trade, investment, education, science and technology, innovation, defense and security, and efforts to address the consequences of war. Vietnam and the US, he said, increasingly share common interests and have more room for cooperation.

From the differences and suffering of the past, the two countries have gradually built trust, expanded cooperation, developed their relationship and found shared strategic interests.

To Lam said he was proud of a hardworking, dynamic and resilient Vietnamese community that has maintained ties to its homeland and roots.

For younger Vietnamese Americans, he said, the opportunity to study at leading universities, work for major corporations, conduct research in advanced laboratories and launch startups built around new technologies represents not only their own success and a source of pride for the community, but also part of Vietnam’s future.

The Party and State will continue to improve institutions, mechanisms and policies to better connect with overseas Vietnamese and tap their resources and expertise, particularly those of intellectuals, experts, entrepreneurs, scientists and younger generations, he said.

To Lam stressed that Vietnam’s development in a new era would require the strength of national unity to be combined with the opportunities of the times. Domestic and international resources need to be connected, he said, while material resources must be complemented by intellectual capital.

The strength of more than 100 million Vietnamese at home, he said, should be connected with that of 6.5 million Vietnamese people living, studying and working around the world. Doing so, he said, would help the country achieve its goals sooner.

The Vietnamese community in the US is the largest overseas Vietnamese community in the world, with its formation closely tied to the profound upheavals Vietnam experienced during the 20th century.

It encompasses different generations, circumstances and perspectives on history. However, To Lam said, “Vietnam is one country, and the Vietnamese are one people,” a principle he described as unchanging.

Joining hands to realize Vietnam’s development aspirations

According to VNA, To Lam said Vietnam’s experience of war, division, suffering and loss had deepened its appreciation of the value of peace.

Everyone, he said, wants future generations to inherit the benefits that peace can bring: a peaceful life, the freedom to work, study and create, along with compassion, tolerance, trust, solidarity and a shared aspiration to build an increasingly prosperous, civilized and happy Vietnam.

To Lam called on the community to “close the past” and work together to shape the nation’s future, which he said was also about the future of their children and grandchildren. He described this not merely as an aspiration, but as the responsibility of today’s generation to those that follow.

He called on Vietnamese people in the US to help turn the aspiration for a strong and prosperous Vietnam into concrete action, including expanding global networks of Vietnamese intellectuals and connecting businesses in Vietnam with Vietnamese-owned businesses in the US.

The Vietnamese leader also proposed more exchange programs for students, professors and experts, as well as opportunities for young Vietnamese Americans to undertake internships, conduct research and launch startups in Vietnam.

He also encouraged joint projects in science, technology, education, healthcare, culture and innovation, describing such initiatives as new bridges that could help strengthen relations between Vietnam and the US.

Every successful Vietnamese person in the US can help make Vietnam better known, he said. Every entrepreneur can open another door to cooperation, every scientist can build another bridge of knowledge, and every student can create another connection between the two countries.

To Lam stressed that Vietnam welcomes and values all contributions from overseas Vietnamese, whether made directly or from afar. Joining together to contribute to the homeland, he said, embodies the bonds of a shared nation and people.

Tran Thuong