Hanoi (VNA) - Relations with overseas Vietnamese people are animportant part of Vietnam’s foreign policy, Deputy Prime Minister and Ministerof Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh said.

He made the statement at a meeting held in Hanoi on November 27 to review thefive-year implementation of the Politburo’s Directive No.45 on tasks and goalsto enhance the implementation of its 2004 resolution on affairs related tooverseas Vietnamese.

“The Vietnamese living in other countries are an inseparable part and animportant source of strength for the entire Vietnamese people,” Minh stressed,adding that in every high-level meeting with foreign representatives,Vietnamese leaders always asked the host country’s authorities to providesupport for the Vietnamese community.

Many mechanisms and policies had been issued and implemented to create morefavourable conditions for overseas Vietnamese, Minh said, adding that theGovernment was working to tap into the great resources that are youngVietnamese people overseas.

In the complex situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the spirit of leavingno one behind, the Government had organised repatriation flights to bring homemore than 53,000 people from more than 50 countries and territories, while thegood handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country had strengthened the confidenceof overseas Vietnamese in the Party and the State, Deputy PM Minh said.

However, there were still shortcomings that need to be addressed concerningrelations with overseas Vietnamese, including slow promulgation of policies andinstructions on implementation of policies, and the mobilisation of resourcesfrom overseas Vietnamese had not yet matched potential.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Dang Minh Khoi, also Chairman of the StateCommittee for Overseas Vietnamese, said the number of Vietnamese living abroadhad increased from 4.5 million people in 109 countries and territories in 2015to 5.3 million in 130 countries and territories in 2019.

As of October, overseas Vietnamese from 27 countries and territories hadinvested in 362 foreign direct investment projects in Vietnam with a totalregistered capital of 1.6 billion USD, Khoi said.

From 2015 to 2019, the total remittances totalled 71 billion USD, according to Khoi.

Remittances from overseas Vietnamese will reach about 15.6 billion USD this year,according to a forecast from the World Bank.

Overseas Vietnamese had always responded positively to calls for donation andsupport for local people in overcoming the consequences of the COVID-19pandemic as well as natural disasters, evidenced by their response to recenthistoric floods and storms in central Vietnam, Khoi said.

“Many initiatives to marshal and connect Vietnamese intellectuals from abroadto contribute to national development have been proposed and implemented.”

Many enterprises of overseas Vietnamese have helped promote the country'sproducts, culture and image to international friends./.