(VOVworld)- More than 500 Vietnamese expatriates from around the world attended the Overseas Vietnamese conference 2016 in Ho Chi Minh City over the weekend. The conference aimed to persuade overseas Vietnamese intellectuals and businesses to contribute to the development of HCM City.

Some participants at the conference (Photo: VNA)

Overseas Vietnamese people are an inseparable part of the Vietnamese nation and a bridge linking Vietnam with other countries around the world. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has organized activities and programs to encourage them to invest in their homeland.

Joint efforts to develop HCM City’s science, technology, and knowledge-led economy

HCM City aims to become a major economic, financial, trade, scientific and technological hub in Southeast Asia. Science, technology and innovation are considered the key to the city’s socio-economic development. HCM City has become focused on promoting innovations and starts-up, exploiting scientific and technological potential and developing the technology market. Prof. Vu Le Hai of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia said: “If we are able to develop our own technology, we can overcome the problems facing our country and our city. We need to master and take the lead in technology, and begin to export our technology.”

Ms Phan Bich Thien, an overseas Vietnamese from Hungary

At the conference, Vietnamese expatriates urged HCM City to build an ecological environment, develop a knowledge-based economy, and produce products with higher quality and higher added values. Phan Bich Thien from Hungary, proposed ways to connect scientific research with the market: “Enterprises need to increase their contributions to science and technology to serve national development. Vietnamese people are smart. They have won a number of international prizes for their research. But scientific research and enterprises have not been connected. I propose setting up a fund for scientific and technological development. This fund should be socialized. Enterprises should be encouraged to contribute part of their revenue to the fund which will ultimately help them increase their income.”

Dedication to national development

Overseas Vietnamese have contributed a wide range of ideas including piloting a start-up city, a smart city, mapping out strategies on education, training, socio-economics, science, technology, and investment promotion. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chief organizer of the conference Vu Hong Nam said: “Our conference was successful in connecting devotion of overseas Vietnamese who always turn their hearts to the homeland, and the leader and people of HCM City, a city named after our beloved Uncle Ho. All want to make their city the pride of the Vietnamese people.”

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc praised Overseas Vietnamese for helping Vietnamese enterprises export goods and services, and for investing in the domestic market. Overseas Vietnamese intellectuals have participated in scientific and technological research and application, education and training programs, and humanitarian activities in Vietnam. In 2015, overseas remittance to Vietnam reached 12.5 billion USD spent on investment, business activities and improving the lives of Vietnamese people. Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said: “I believe that Overseas Vietnamese, despite living in different circumstances or having different views, always turn their hearts to their motherland. Let’s join our hands and efforts to put Vietnam on a par with other countries.”