Today more and more are returning to Vietnam to invest and do business as the country becomes more integrated into the world while recording significant socio-economic achievements.

General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong greets overseas Vietnamese at Ngoc Son Temple as part of the 2019 Homeland Spring programme.

General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong has affirmed that overseas Vietnamese, no matter where they are living, are always an inseparable part of the motherland, as President Ho Chi Minh once said “The motherland and government are always pining for the overseas compatriots as fathers and mothers miss their sons and daughters who are away from home. That is a natural human feeling, the love between people under the same roof.”

Despite the challenges both at home and abroad, under the sound leadership of the Party and State, Vietnam has continued to grow over recent years and recorded many positive results in almost every aspect. 

The motherland and government are always pining for the overseas compatriots as fathers and mothers miss their sons and daughters who are away from home.”  President Ho Chi Minh

According to General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, Vietnam’s macroeconomic stability has been maintained, creating a solid foundation for renewing the growth model and restructuring the economy. The size of the Vietnamese economy is being expanded and its quality enhanced.

In 2019 the economy grew by 7.02%, exceeding the National Assembly’s target of 6.6-6.8%. The people’s living standards continue to improve while political stability and social order is sustained, national defence and security is strengthened, and sovereignty and territorial integrity are safeguarded.

The Party and State leader said that achievements in external relations have helped to enhance Vietnam’s status in the international arena, while Vietnam’s relations with neighbouring countries and major partners continue to be strengthened.

The fight against corruption, bureaucracy and wastefulness has been noticeably stepped up in the past year. Many serious corruption cases were brought to light, with many of the former and current officials who were involved having gone on trial to the applause of people from all walks of life, both at home and abroad.

According to General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong, such results were achieved thanks to the unison between the Party’s intent and the people’s will, the strength of unity and the joint efforts of the entire political system and society, including the valuable contributions of the Vietnamese community abroad.

“It is not by accident that the atmosphere of optimism and confidence in the Party’s leadership, the victory of the reform and the national construction and defence cause continues to permeate throughout the country and is being recognised by international friends,” emphasised General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong.

The Party and State’s active and comprehensive campaigning and support measures have mobilised the considerable resources and brainpower of more than 4.5 million Vietnamese people currently living, studying and working in over 110 countries and territories to serve Vietnam’s development.

In recent times, about 300-500 overseas Vietnamese intellectuals return home each year to take part in various scientific, technological and educational activities, contributing many substantive and profound ideas to the country’s development issues, building start-up ecosystems, enhancing the workforce and developing domestic technologies. As of the end of 2019, there were about 3,000 projects invested in by overseas Vietnamese from 52 countries and territories with total capital of US$4 billion.

Another trend is that more and more overseas Vietnamese intellectuals and technology experts, especially young people, are coming home and participating in conferences held by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other ministries.

It is estimated that about 500,000 overseas Vietnamese people are working at research facilities and sci-tech centres around the world. About 300 of them return to Vietnam each year to collaborate with domestic organisations.

The second Global Young Vietnamese Intellectual Forum in 2019

In 2019 the activities of overseas Vietnamese intellectuals, experts and businesspeople as groups and individuals helped connect Vietnamese intellectuals, experts and businesspeople from around the world, boosting the contributions of overseas Vietnamese to the country’s scientific, technological and socio-economic development.

General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong emphasised that “the Vietnamese Party and State highly treasures the advice of overseas Vietnamese scientists so that the country can quickly catch up with the world’s scientific and technological advances, especially amid the ongoing fourth industrial revolution.”

Events held by overseas Vietnamese entrepreneurs, such as the first Overseas Vietnamese Economic Forum in the Republic of Korea in June 2019, the Vietnamese Business Forum in Europe in September 2019 and the Thailand-Vietnam Trade Promotion Conference in Udon Thani in September 2019, have made important contributions to promoting Vietnamese brands and enterprises to the world.

Along with investment projects of overseas Vietnamese, remittances are also an important resource for domestic economic development. According to the World Bank, Vietnam received US$16.7 billion worth of remittances in 2019, making the country one of the ten largest remittance recipients for the third consecutive year. Ho Chi Minh City received the largest share of remittances at an estimated US$5.6 billion last year.

The first Overseas Vietnamese Economic Forum in the Republic of Korea in June 2019

With a sense of national pride and patriotism, overseas Vietnamese have also taken actions to protect Vietnamese culture, including the teaching and studying of the Vietnamese language. Overseas Vietnamese not only make contributions to economic development but also help to preserve and promote fine Vietnamese traditions. This can be considered the soft power of a country as Luong Thanh Nghi, deputy head of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, has affirmed.

The overseas Vietnamese community also act as catalysts for the success of Vietnam’s people-to-people diplomacy. Through cultural exchange activities, overseas Vietnamese are playing a part in conserving and promoting national cultural values, building a positive image of Vietnam abroad, winning the love of international friends and helping to enhance Vietnam’s status in the international stage.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and overseas Vietnamese attending the 2020 Homeland Spring programme (Photo: VGP)

The praiseworthy contributions of overseas Vietnamese to the homeland come from the passionate patriotism of each and every Vietnamese, which is a cherished tradition of the Vietnamese people.

The Party and State always shares in the difficulties facing Vietnamese people living away from home, while also believing that no matter where they go and what they do, Vietnamese people will always uphold and pass down to their children the tradition of remembering their cultural roots.

It is the idea that great unity brings about great success espoused by President Ho Chi Minh as the never-ending stream of the Vietnamese nation. Nhan Dan

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