HCMC – More than 400 overseas Vietnamese from 42 countries convened in Hanoi today, August 22, for a conference aimed at contributing to Vietnam’s national development.
The 4th Worldwide Conference of Overseas Vietnamese, alongside the 2024 Forum of Vietnamese Intellectuals and Experts Abroad, took place at the National Convention Center in Hanoi.
Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son said that the conference has become a crucial platform for strategic dialogue on Vietnam’s development and security. The previous editions, held in 2009, 2012 and 2016, drew more than 2,000 delegates.
Since the last conference, significant changes have occurred in the global and regional landscape, Son observed. He highlighted the emergence of the knowledge economy and the Fourth Industrial Revolution as new challenges for the over six million Vietnamese living abroad, of whom around 600,000 hold university degrees.
Hoang Dinh Thang, chairman of the Union of Vietnamese People Associations in Europe, underscored the importance of the Party and State’s policies toward overseas Vietnamese. He stated that these policies, along with Vietnam’s economic and social achievements, have fostered a conducive environment for the growth of the overseas Vietnamese community.
“Wherever they are, overseas Vietnamese maintain a deep connection with their homeland,” Thang said, expressing pride in Vietnam’s rising stature on the global stage.
Johnathan Hanh Nguyen, an expatriate from the Philippines and chairman of Imex Pan Pacific Group, lauded the role of public diplomacy in strengthening Vietnam’s international relations. He noted that the more than six million overseas Vietnamese, living in over 130 countries and territories, have been instrumental in this effort. “As an overseas Vietnamese, I am proud to contribute to these accomplishments,” he said.
Son further highlighted that overseas Vietnamese communities have increasingly asserted their presence in host countries, contributing to bilateral cooperation and development between Vietnam and other nations.
Over the past 30 years, remittances to Vietnam have exceeded US$200 billion, an amount comparable to foreign direct investment disbursements during the same period. As of the end of 2023, overseas Vietnamese had invested in 421 projects with total registered capital of US$1.72 billion.
The 4th Worldwide Conference of Overseas Vietnamese, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, focuses on mobilizing resources from expatriates to support the country’s growth.
Participants include entrepreneurs and experts in fields such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence. The forum, held for the first time within the broader conference, is themed “Overseas Vietnamese Join Hands to Realize the Aspiration of National Development.”
