Nghe An (VNA) – As many as 200delegates representing overseas Vietnamese from 28 countries gathered at aconference in the central province of Nghe An on December 27 to discussconnections between them and localities in the homeland.

Vice Chairman of the State Committee forOverseas Vietnamese under the Foreign Ministry Luong Thanh Nghi said thefunction creates an opportunity for Vietnamese at home and abroad, especiallythose in central provinces, to explore business-investment opportunities, whichwill bring practical benefits for each locality’s socio-economic development inthe long run.

The Party, Government and localities always paydue attention to the overseas Vietnamese community, evidenced by theimplementation and perfection of mechanisms, policies and laws on citizenship,visa exemption and land ownership to support Vietnamese expatriates to dobusiness in the homeland.

According to the World Bank, remittances toVietnam have increased through years from 11.9 billion USD in 2016 to 13.8billion USD in 2017. The amount is projected to reach 16 billion USD this year.

So far this year, nearly 3,000 overseas Vietnamesebusinesses have contributed capital totaling about 4 billion USD. Each year,between 300 and 500 overseas Vietnamese intellectuals join research andcooperation programmes on science-technology transfer, education and training,Nghi noted.

Vice Chairman of the provincial People’sCommittee Le Ngoc Hoa said the conference aims to affirm the Party and State’spolicy of regarding the overseas Vietnamese community as an indispensable partof the nation.

Nghe An is one of the provinces with the largestnumber of expatriates in the country, which stands at about 75,000, he said,adding that many associations strengthening solidarity between local peoplehave developed in Russia, Germany and the Czech Republic.

These associations serve as an important bridgeto connect and support the provincial investment, trade and tourism promotion activities,as well as boost the friendly cooperative relations between Nghe An and foreignpartners, he added.

Nghe An has been improving its infrastructuresystem, human resources training and investment environment besides simplifyingadministrative procedures and widening door to investors, the official stressed.

There are approximately 4.5 million Vietnameseliving and working in over 110 countries and territories worldwide.-VNA