Communist Review - Throughout the history of Vietnam's revolution, the Communist Party and the State of Vietnam have always attached great importance to the effective mobilization of the resources of overseas Vietnamese (OVs) for national construction and defense. Amid complex developments around the world with opportunities and challenges intertwined, the unity, determination, and resources mobilized from inside and outside Vietnam under the leadership of the Party are crucial for the country to advance robustly and achieve its set development goals.

The Party’s major stance on overseas Vietnamese affairs with its consistent guidelines was demonstrated in the Politburo’s Resolution 36/NQ-TW, dated March 26, 2004, on "Overseas Vietnamese affairs", which defined overseas Vietnamese “as an inseparable part and a resource of the Vietnamese nation." Building on this policy, the Politburo’s Directive 45-CT/TW, dated May 19, 2015, on "Continuing to strengthen the implementation of the 9th Politburo’s Resolution 36-NQ/TW on overseas Vietnamese affairs in the new situation," and the Politburo’s Conclusion 12-KL/TW, dated August 12, 2021, on “Overseas Vietnamese affairs in the new situation" identified the overseas Vietnamese community as an "important resource" and called for "encouragement and favorable conditions for overseas Vietnamese to actively contribute to the cause of national construction and defense." Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said, "Wherever you go, remember you are ‘the Lac Hong descendants;’ whatever you do, remember you are Vietnamese... We should live together with affection, gratitude, humanity, and solidarity,  contributing to promoting Vietnam, its people, and its culture abroad..."⁽¹⁾.

The Overseas Vietnamese community represents a significant resource for national development

Approximately 6 million people of Vietnamese origin  are living in more than 130 countries and territories worldwide, with more than 80% residing in developed countries⁽²⁾. Overseas Vietnamese are  integrating more extensively into, affirming their role and position in and contributions to the development of their host countries while promoting cooperation and friendship between Vietnam and their hosts. Despite differing viewpoints, the majority of OVs harbor a deep affection for and want to contribute to the development of their homeland to make Vietnam a strong and prosperous country with a deserving position on the global stage. The growing number of initiatives, projects, and mechanisms undertaken by OVs have contributed remarkably to Vietnam’s national development, enhancing its cooperation with other countries in trade, investment, culture, education, and science and technology, communicating the country’s stance on international issues, and protecting national sovereignty "from afar." OVs’ long-term, abundant, and valuable resources include:

First, knowledge, science and technology, and high-quality human resources

It is estimated that 10-12% of the approximately 6 million Vietnamese living abroad have attained a university or higher degree⁽³⁾. Many of them are established scientists in information technology, electronics, telecommunications, mechanical engineering, cybernetics, biotechnology, space technology, new materials, nanotechnology, energy, economic management, and finance/banking. Various associations of Vietnamese professionals and intellectuals have been established and are actively operating both in their host countries and in Vietnam.

The growing connectivity among Vietnamese people worldwide has created increasingly flexible cooperation mechanisms for domestic and foreign experts to participate in projects and programs under Vietnam's national development strategy. This has been a significant step forward in attracting intellectual resources from OVs, paving the way for new approaches which not only facilitate the exchange of knowledge and collaboration among experts and intellectuals from different countries, but also connect OV intellectuals with domestic agencies and research centers.

Vietnamese workers abroad are also a significant resource for Vietnam thanks to the professional skills and work experience they have gained in foreign countries. In the 2017-2019 period, between 130,000 and 150,000 Vietnamese citizens were sent abroad annually to work under contract⁽⁴⁾. Upon returning home, most of them have secured stable employment, and some have even established businesses or production facilities using the capital they accumulated overseas.

Second, economic resources

The OV business community is financially strong and has demonstrated an influence not only within their communities but has also impressed the authorities of their host countries. Their economic, cultural, commercial, and investment activities have become a bridge for exchanges between Vietnam and other countries and territories.

OV entrepreneurs are among the major contributors to the export of Vietnamese goods to many international markets. They have established distribution networks through trade centers and business organizations and associations to promote Vietnam’s key export products, including garments, footwear, farm produce, food, and handicrafts. They have also effectively popularized Vietnamese culture, its landscape, and people worldwide through cultural activities, exhibitions, and trade and tourism fairs. Moreover, OVs have contributed significantly to the development of Vietnam’s tourism and aviation sectors. In the 2009-2019 period (before the COVID-19 pandemic), between 700,000 and one million OVs visited Vietnam each year.⁽⁵⁾

Third, soft power resources

The OV community is integrating more extensively into its host countries’ environment, contributing to the expansion of Vietnam's political and cultural influence. Several OVs have become involved in politics at federal, state, and city levels in countries such as the United States, Germany, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Australia. The number of Vietnamese or individuals of Vietnamese origin holding important positions in international organizations is on the rise. This serves as an important foundation for the strengthening of trust and cooperation between Vietnam and people, politicians, and leaders of other countries and international organizations.

The OV community has upheld its role as a bridge linking Vietnam and the world through cultural and tourism activities to showcase Vietnam’s land and people abroad. The Republic of Korea, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Taiwan (China) have approved the teaching of Vietnamese as a second language, helping to maintain and promote Vietnamese cultural identity. OVs have contributed sizably to strengthening relations and people-to-people and cultural exchanges between Vietnam and other countries.

In June 2023, Slovakia officially recognized the Vietnamese community as the 14th ethnic minority group in the country. The Vietnamese community in Morocco, consisting of about 350 people, mainly second and third-generation descendants, built the Vietnam Gate there in November 2022 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Vietnam-Morocco relations. This structure has become a symbol of friendship between the two countries and reminds OVs in Morocco of their roots.

OVs in Udon Thani city, Thailand, have established Vietnam Town as a cultural and tourist center of not only Vietnamese people in northeastern Thailand but also the Thai-Vietnamese community as a whole.

Fourth, resources for charitable and humanitarian activities

For years, OVs have been active in charitable and humanitarian programs in Vietnam. They have traveled to remote areas to help disadvantaged people improve their living standard, contributing to the country's poverty reduction efforts.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, despite their own difficulties, OVs offered material and spiritual support to their homeland and contributed valuable opinions to help the Party and the State mitigate the impact of the pandemic. They provided nearly 3.5 million USD in medical supplies and other assistance to aid the fight against COVID-19 in Vietnam. Vietnamese expatriates also actively coordinated with Vietnamese representative agencies abroad in mobilizing vaccines and medical supplies from the host countries for Vietnam. Nearly 30 Vietnamese organizations and associations abroad launched support campaigns such as "Joining hands for Vietnam" and "10,000 vaccine doses for Vietnam."

Many OVs who serve as heads or executives of foreign non-governmental organizations have implemented humanitarian activities in Vietnam, contributing to the country’s poverty reduction, sustainable development, and international integration. Among the 388 NGOs operating in Vietnam, there are 44 NGOs whose founders, presidents, chief representatives, or executives are overseas Vietnamese, which provide approximately 8.4 million USD per year in aid to Vietnam.

Commendable achievements

With the profound concern of Party and State leaders, OV affairs and the utilization of OVs' resources have been systematically encouraged throughout the entire political system. Awareness of the role of OVs by local Party committees, authorities, domestic and foreign agencies, officials, Party members, and the general public has been enhanced. The Government as well as central and local agencies have translated the Party's orientation regarding OVs and the utilization of their resources into legal documents, programs, action plans, and projects in various fields. As a result, significant achievements have been gained in leveraging the resources of OVs.

First, politics: Despite different political views and attitudes, OVs’ dedication to their homeland is tangible. With the desire to contribute to the protection of Vietnam’s sovereignty, including its seas and islands, the Vietnamese communities in the Republic of Korea, Germany, Hungary, and Poland have established various funds, such as the Fund for Vietnam's Maritime Sovereignty and the Truong Sa Club, and have organized seminars, discussions, and photo exhibitions on the East Sea. Since 2012, the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese has organized visits to Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago for OVs, which have garnered a strong response from the OV community. Through these activities, the OV community aims to disseminate accurate information to international friends, share concern for the homeland's seas and islands, and affirm Vietnam's sovereignty over the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos.

Second, science and technology, and education and training: Some 300-500 overseas Vietnamese experts return to Vietnam each year to participate in scientific and technological activities, sharing their extensive and practical insights on various national development issues⁽⁶⁾. Many of these overseas Vietnamese experts have returned to live and work in Vietnam or have initiated long-term, foundational projects, making substantive contributions to the development of science and technology, as well as education and training. Their efforts have helped bring Vietnam's science and technology closer to global standards.

Through energizing meetings, interactions and exchanges organized by domestic agencies in recent years⁽⁷⁾, OV intellectuals and experts have directly contributed their ideas to help the Government remove difficulties and obstacles facing the development of clean energy, green technology, and green and circular economic policies, as well as environmental protection and sustainable development.

During the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 and 2021, OV experts and intellectuals mobilized local governments, organizations, and businesses to supply vaccines to Vietnam. They accelerated the transfer of vaccine production technology, shared experiences, and made many useful proposals and recommendations related to pandemic prevention and control through a series of exchange and consultation programs with Vietnamese medical agencies and individuals.

Third, economics, trade, and investment: By the end of 2022, OVs from 35 countries and territories had implemented 385 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in 42 out of a total of 63 provinces and cities across Vietnam, with a total registered capital of 1.72 billion USD⁽⁸⁾. The Vietnamese diaspora has also invested in their homeland through indirect channels. OVs’ investment and business activities have contributed to socio-economic development, employment, and State revenue. 

From 1993 to 2022, OVs sent home over 190 billion USD, including nearly 19 billion USD in 2022 alone⁽⁹⁾. The amount of remittances has increased steadily each year despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Vietnam has been among the world’s top 10 recipients of remittances for many consecutive years.

Vietnamese business associations and entrepreneurs abroad have played an active role in facilitating trade between Vietnamese and foreign businesses. The Business Association of Overseas Vietnamese (BAOOV)⁽¹⁰⁾ was established in August 2009 with the  primary goal of creating a venue for cooperation and exchange of information on investment, production, business, trade, and services in Vietnam and other countries.

Vietnamese agencies inside and outside Vietnam have successfully coordinated many seminars, symposiums, and trade and investment promotion forums⁽¹¹⁾ to help address difficulties for businesses and enhance the role of OVs as a bridge in promoting the sale of Vietnamese products abroad.

Limitations and shortcomings

Despite significant progress, much remains to be done to make full use of the immense potential of the OV community.

Knowledge resources: The number of overseas Vietnamese intellectuals, experts, and scientists contributing to Vietnam’s national development remains modest, currently at only 300-500 people per year, which is less than 0.1% of the Vietnamese diaspora. Although the OV intellectual and expert community is growing in both scale and quality, the majority of them only return to teach, attend conferences, or participate in programs and projects for a limited time, aside from a few individuals who have returned and remained for many years. Consequently, many OVs are unable to bring their potential and strengths to full play due to limited interactions with their domestic colleagues.

Many ministries, departments, localities, universities, and research institutes, despite their strong need for cooperation with OV experts and intellectuals, lack viable programs and projects to attract them. Solutions to tapping into the "brainpower" of OVs have not been widely and effectively implemented, while OVs’ suggestions and proposals have not been thoroughly addressed. There remains a significant gap between Vietnam and developed countries regarding the scientific and technological environment and working conditions.

Economic resources: There is a lack of a mechanism to assess and direct the use of the substantial volume of remittances in line with the country's development goals. OVs’ FDI accounts for a low proportion of total FDI and primarily focuses on the service sector rather than on production and high technology. The link between domestic enterprises and OV businesses remains weak. Vietnamese expatriates lack information about processes, procedures, and incentive policies on investment in key production sectors in Vietnam.

Policy implementation: Cumbersome administrative procedures in some localities have discouraged OVs from contributing to their homeland. Regulations on land, real estate transactions and ownership, science and technology, recruitment and appointment are not yet fully open to OVs. As a result, many have felt reluctant to invest or work on a long-term basis in Vietnam.

Effectively leveraging OVs’ resources to achieve national development goals until 2030 in line with the 13th National Party Congress’ resolution

The OV population will continue to expand, as will its area of residence. The younger generation of OVs who are trained in an advanced educational and cultural environment and possess new thinking, methods, and access to technologies will play a key role in the community’s socio-economic activities.

Attracting OVs’ resources should take into account the potential and strengths of each resource, and should be integrated into the Party and State’s great national unity and foreign policies to better contribute to fostering friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and other countries and supporting OVs’ livelihoods, while developing solutions to fully harness OVs’ resources.

First, maintain a unified perception of the Party and State’s consistent guidelines and policies on strengthening the national unity bloc, which includes the OV community. It is necessary to  meet the legitimate aspirations of OVs and encourage, commend, and honor OVs who have made significant contributions to boosting socio-economic development and leveraging  Vietnam’s position in the world.

Second, modify policies and legislation to create favorable conditions to motivate OVs to return to live and work in Vietnam. It is important to consider creating more favorable conditions for OVs to obtain or regain Vietnamese citizenship without renouncing their foreign citizenship in order to ensure a "flexible" one-citizenship principle and "quickly and satisfactorily address OVs’ citizenship-related issues."⁽¹²⁾ Attention should be paid to accelerating the revision of laws regarding the essential rights and interests of OVs, such as entry, exit, residence, land use, housing, real estate and investment, in line with the Constitution and laws and in the spirit of Resolution 36-NQ/TW, Directive 45-CT/TW, and Conclusion 12-KL/TW on OV affairs.

Third, continue to improve and effectively implement mechanisms and policies on attracting and utilizing OV intellectuals and experts. It is crucial to craft specific guidelines on drawing OV experts and scientists to scientific and technological activities in Vietnam, and to appoint competent OV experts and intellectuals to leadership positions at research institutions, universities, educational and training institutions, production and business establishments, and special projects covering fields that Vietnam prioritizes or where it lacks experience.

It is necessary to consider expanding the model of inviting OV experts and intellectuals to join advisory boards/groups to assist the Government, ministries, departments, and localities in socio-economic development management and planning.

Each locality, ministry, and department should thoroughly study their practical needs to develop flexible strategies and policies to best utilize OVs’ resources. It is also important to encourage innovation in attracting and utilizing talent and to enhance communication to motivate OV intellectuals and experts.

An information sharing mechanism should be created between OV experts and domestic agencies, businesses, and organizations to discuss specific cooperation. It is crucial to offer incentive policies and special treatment to leading OV scientists, experts, and intellectuals, particularly consultants in management and technology transfer. Heads of sectors and agencies should be authorized to recruit and appoint competent OVs.

Fourth, continue to improve the investment and business environment and reform administrative procedures, especially at the grassroots level, to ensure transparency, convenience, and alignment with market mechanisms and international practices. It is essential to regularly update OVs on incentive policies, projects, and prioritized fields for investment and to attract remittances to production, business, and public-private partnership projects. Focus should be placed on measures to incentivize investment, production, and business activities carried out by OVs or by their relatives in Vietnam. It is necessary to strengthen trade promotion activities and connect businesses inside and outside Vietnam, and facilitate conditions for the export of Vietnamese goods to trade centers owned by OVs and foreign distribution systems.

Fifth, support the Vietnamese diaspora in consolidating their legal status, stabilizing their daily lives, and evolving and integrating within their host countries. Efforts should be made to encourage all forms of gathering and uniting OVs on a voluntary basis and in accordance with the laws and customs of both the host countries and Vietnam. Attention should be paid to strengthening and developing associations of professionals, intellectuals, entrepreneurs, youth and students within the OV community to lead its development. Other measures include organizing experience and information sharing sessions, and training for key leaders of associations and organizations, and supporting initiatives and programs by OVs, particularly visits to the homeland, education on Vietnamese traditions, teaching and learning the Vietnamese language, and camps for OV youth.

New requirements have emerged for Vietnam in the current context of international integration and economic competition. Party guidelines on OV affairs all attach great importance to maximizing the resources of the entire nation, including the OV community, for national construction and defense. Throughout history, efforts to mobilize OV resources have constantly been strengthened and renewed to create favorable mechanisms and environments for Vietnamese expatriates to contribute to their homeland. However, shortcomings remain, requiring a new mindset and stronger actions to tap into the vast resources of OVs for national construction and defense. 

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* Pham Viet Hung, Ngo Thi Thu Huong

(1) Nguyen Phu Trong: Building and developing Vietnam’s comprehensive and modern external relations and diplomacy imbued with the “Vietnamese bamboo” identity, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2023, p. 775

(2), (3) Source: the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

(4) Improving the quality of guest workers, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs’ portal, January 1, 2019, https://www.molisa.gov.vn/baiviet/219367?tintucID=219367

(5) Source: the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

(6) Ibid.

(7) The Conference "Overseas Vietnamese join forces to promote Ho Chi Minh City’s rapid and sustainable development and international integration" (November 2016); the Program "Prime Minister meets with exemplary OV experts, intellectuals, and businesspeople" (November 2016); the Conference  "Overseas Vietnamese join forces to promote the homeland’s integration and development" (December 2018); the Program "Connecting Vietnam’s innovation network" (2018); the Project "Promoting innovation through scientific and technological research" (2014-2019); and the conference to collect overseas Vietnamese experts’ ideas for the development planning of Quang Nam Province (June 2022).

(8) Khanh Linh: “Imprints of overseas Vietnamese affairs”, the Communist Party of Vietnam’s online newspaper, January 23, 2023, https://dangcongsan.vn/nguoi-viet-nam-o-nuoc-ngoai/cong-tac-nguoi-viet-nam-o-nuoc-ngoai-nhung-dau-an-dam-net
(9) Hong Anh, Anh Tuan: “Remittances - “the golden resource” for financial power,” The National Institute for Finance’s portal, January 31, 2023, https://mof.gov.vn/webcenter/portal/vclvcstc/pages_r/l/chi-tiet-tin?dDocName=MOFUCM265222
(10) The Business Association of Overseas Vietnamese is preparing for its 4th Congress.
(11) The Conference of OV entrepreneurs (2006); Symposiums on entrepreneurs held as part of the Conference on OVs (2009, 2012 and 2016); the meetings between OV entrepreneurs and domestic entrepreneurs (2011, 2013); the annual Business Forum of OVs in Europe; the first and second Overseas Vietnamese Economic Forums held in the Republic of Korea in 2019 and in Japan in 2023 respectively.
(12) The Politburo’s Resolution 36-NQ/TW, dated March 26, 2004, on “Overseas Vietnamese affairs”

This article was published in the Communist Review No. 1027 (December 2023)