Six years after the Politburo’s Decree 36 on overseas Vietnamese (Viet kieu) affairs was implemented, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem and representatives of 63 provinces and relevant agencies met on November 4 to review the implementation of the decree.
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| Former Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien. |
Decree 36 marked a breakthrough for the Viet kieu community, classifying them as an integral part of the Vietnamese people and welcoming them to contribute to the development of the country.
"It\'s one of two landmark decrees in the doi moi (renewal) process of the country, reflecting a significant change in the Party\'s thinking," said Deputy PM Pham Gia Khiem, who is also a Politburo member.
He said overseas Vietnamese affairs were hugely important and had become one of the four pillars of the country\'s diplomacy, apart from political, economic and cultural tasks.
Citing laws on dual nationality, investment and property ownership for Viet kieu, the minister said the decree had materialised in daily life, "but now we need to focus on developing more concrete policies and measures".
The committee’s Vice Chair Dang The Hung presented a report on the six years of implementation of the decree. It said that in the past years, the department had organised many events for Viet kieu to re-establish their links with the country. Decree 36 also facilitates the return of some people belonging to the other side during the war, the re-opening of Binh Duong Province\'s Binh An Cemetery where soldiers of the former Sai Gon regime were buried - and the search for remains of those missing.
Hung noted that in the future, the department would try to reverse lingering prejudice against Viet kieu so that the political system would be conscious of their role and significance.
"We will be tough on eliminating unnecessary administrative procedures concerning Viet kieu," he said. "We will create a better legal framework for their investment, property ownership and Vietnamese nationality."
The most important project of all, according to Hung, is to lure more and more Viet kieu intellectuals and experts to contribute to the country’s development.
Former Foreign Minister Nguyen Dy Nien said that policies for overseas Vietnamese have been designed but their implementation is not smooth. He said overseas Vietnamese should be elected to the National Assembly and the State needs to further protect the interests of overseas Vietnamese in other countries and those who have returned home to do business and live here.
He emphasized the preservation of Vietnamese characteristics and tradition and the national unity. The implementation of the Decree 36 has going well and 50 percent of the goals have been achieved.
"We should defend their legitimate rights and benefits both in the country and in their resident countries so that they feel that Vietnam is truly their home and their guardian," Nien said.
Incentive policies will be applied and a research centre established to seek Vietnamese talents from around the world, especially former consultants to leaders of countries and multinationals. In the meantime, the Ministry of Education and Training is developing a scheme to teach Vietnamese to young Vietnamese abroad, according to Deputy Minister Bui Van Ga.
"The focus for the time being is to develop more favourable policies and framework to attract more Viet kieu back to the country," said Deputy Foreign Minister and Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs Nguyen Thanh Son.
According to the State Committee on Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, there are 4.5 million Vietnamese living in 103 countries. So far they have invested US$5.7 billion in more than 3,200 projects in the nation. They send home $6.7 billion in 2007, $7.4 billion in 2008 and $6.8 billion in 2009.
