Increasing policy support
The Resolution of the 13th Party Congress stated the country's development orientations, not only in the 2021-2025 period but also for the coming decades, setting out the strategic goal of Vietnam becoming a developed country with high income by 2045. In particular, for the work of Vietnamese people abroad, the Congress clearly stated the task of "more comprehensive and stronger implementation".
On August 12, 2021, the Politburo issued Conclusion No.12-KL/TW, on the work of Vietnamese people abroad in the new situation. The conclusion aims to contribute to the successful implementation of the aspirations and vision of national development, set out by the 13th Party Congress.
After two years of implementation, the work of Vietnamese people abroad has achieved many important results. According to Deputy Foreign Minister Le Thi Thu Hang, who is also head of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, most overseas Vietnamese wish the Party and State to support them to enjoy several policies and the same rights as domestic people, to feel secure in investing, doing business, working or returning to live in the country.
The State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs always attaches great importance to the work of great solidarity, mobilising overseas Vietnamese to return to their homeland, contributing to strengthening the great national unity bloc, and at the same time organising annual activities to connect people with the country, such as Homeland Spring programme, overseas Vietnamese groups visiting Truong Sa Island district and DK1 platform and Vietnam Summer Camp. The Committee has always strived to innovate many contents and forms, to spread positive meaning in the Vietnamese community abroad.
Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang also said, that to improve the effectiveness of mobilisation and promotion of Vietnamese resources abroad, domestic and foreign agencies have successfully coordinated to organise many seminars and conferences, business forums, establishing a network of intellectuals and overseas businessmen, establishing a mechanism for overseas Vietnamese to contribute opinions on major issues of the country.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are currently about 385 investment projects of overseas Vietnamese in Vietnam, with a total registered capital of more than 1.7 billion USD, helping to create jobs and promote technology transfer and socio-economic development. Remittances to the country continued to increase. Remittances in 2022 reached 19 billion USD, an increase of 5% over the same period, putting Vietnam in the top 10 countries in the world in receiving remittances.
In addition, supporting Vietnamese people abroad to have a solid legal status and stabilise their lives in the host countries, continues to receive attention. In foreign affairs activities, Party and State leaders have always asked leaders of other countries to pay attention, support, and create favourable conditions for the Vietnamese community. The event that Slovakia officially recognised the Vietnamese community as the 14th ethnic minority community in the country, affirmed the position, prestige and contribution of the Vietnamese community here.
Honouring Vietnamese culture and language
With a deep awareness that culture is the root and that the mother tongue is the soul of the nation, preserving the Vietnamese language and promoting national cultural identity have been strongly implemented.
The Day for Honouring Vietnamese Language in Vietnamese Communities Abroad, approved by the Prime Minister in 2022, has brought positive breakthroughs. In 2023, the first year of implementing the project, the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs and relevant ministries and branches, organised many activities and received enthusiastic responses from the community.
Recently, information work for Vietnamese people abroad has been innovated, focusing on developing content on digital platforms so that overseas Vietnamese can easily access information. Domestic press agencies have actively followed community-related activities, opening columns and specialised pages, such as Vietnamese magazines, Vietnamese on five continents and Vietnamese compatriots abroad.
Besides, Vietnam has also created conditions for overseas Vietnamese reporters to return home to work, contributing to helping the community obtain accurate and objective information about the situation in the country, as well as the Vietnamese community around the world.
As the project's presiding agency, the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs has continued to work with relevant agencies to design and implement programmes and activities, to promote the Day for Honouring Vietnamese Language in Vietnamese Communities Abroad, making it truly become a mark in the life of the Vietnamese community abroad.
Deputy Minister Le Thi Thu Hang also emphasised that activities to honour national languages and cultures will increasingly receive widespread attention and participation from society, domestic and foreign organisations and individuals, to join hands to preserve and promote Vietnamese culture and language.
