In his opening speech, Deputy Prime Minister and ForeignMinister Pham Binh Minh partly attributed the country’s achievements tovaluable and practical contributions of more than 4.5 million Vietnamese abroad
He said each Vietnamese abroad serves as an ambassador tofoster ties between Vietnam and his/her second homeland, step up globalintegration for sustainable national development.
The Deputy PM expressed his belief that the country willreap greater achievements and the Vietnamese community abroad will stay united tocontribute more to the homeland in 2019.
General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam CentralCommittee and President Nguyen Phu Trong said the overseas Vietnamese communityis an inseparable part of the nation.
According to him, about 300-500 OV intellectuals havereturned home in recent years to join activities in science-technology,education-training, build a start-up ecosystem, and are invited to work withuniversities, research institutes, hi-tech zones and economic establishments.
The Party and State highly value consultations by OVscientists to quickly access technological advances in the world, especiallyamid the ongoing fourth industrial revolution, he said.
A number of overseas Vietnamese businesspeople, associationsand networks have actively brought Vietnamese goods to the world while attractingforeign enterprises and multinational corporations to Vietnam. In 2018,remittances to Vietnam neared 16 billion USD, or a more than 100-fold surgefrom 1993, which have so far been invested in around 3,000 manufacturing andtrading projects.
Via cultural and religious exchanges, the OVs havepopularised the images of Vietnam abroad, contributing to improving its statureon international arena.
The leader said the 2018 achievements have once againreaffirmed the power of great national unity, fostering trust and evokingpatriotism and national pride.
On the occasion, the Party chief beat the drum to launch the2019 spring festival.
Participants were treated to traditional and contemporarymusic performances performed by well-known artists at the event.
In the afternoon the same day, the Party leader and OVs performed aritual of releasing carps into Hanoi’s Hoan Kiem Lake to bid farewell to theKitchen Gods.
Earlier, the OV delegation also paid tribute to President Ho Chi Minh athis mausoleum, and laid a wreath at martyrs’ memorial.-VNA