Overseas Vietnamese businessmen as ‘Ambassadors’

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc met with a delegation of overseas Vietnamese attending the annual Homeland Spring Programme 2019. (Source: VGP)

The responsibility of an 'Ambassador'

The Vietnamese leaders of the Party, State and Government should encourage overseas Vietnamese people, including businessmen, to consider themselves as "Ambassadors". By doing so, they will have the spirit and responsibility to preserve and promote the national cultural identity, conveying the Viet Nam’s culture, image of the people and the country, achievements, goods and services everywhere they go. This will actively help spread their high sense of love, solidarity, sticking towards the homeland to jointly build a rich and prosperous country.

Each overseas Vietnamese represents the image of their country and people to international friends. Take a look at South Korea, after the 1997-1998 financial crisis, this country has promoted the movement called "Overseas Korean Ambassadors" with the program "Dynamic Korea" aiming at identifying each overseas Korean as an "Ambassador" since 2000.

In fact, South Korea has recorded great achievements and developed dramatically thanks to the great contribution of the above program and the "Overseas Korean Ambassadors". In addition, they have an annual program to review, vote and award the title "People's Ambassador" to those who have made many practical and excellent contributions to the Korean community abroad.

Centralized and multi-language portal

The needs to share information about trade and investment connections, to promote products, service and to call for project investment are currently huge. Though there are many different websites, overseas Vietnamese and foreigners still find difficult to get access to the information, or have limited access to the information.

This has led to many obstacles in connecting trade and investment in the country, failing to bring into play the great resources that overseas Vietnamese people, intellectuals, businessmen possess.

Therefore, to achieve high efficiency and to promote the role of a bridge to market information, products, services, technologies, and projects calling for investment, Viet Nam needs to establish a portal promptly updated and supported by the state media to avoid false information.

This portal also serves as a forum for overseas scientists, technology experts, intellectuals to update official information about the country. Through this portal, they also easily share with their foreign partners, creating links, exchanging and sharing the science and technology development vision and strategy, trade promotion and investment cooperation with high efficiency.

Trade and investment connection coordination center

Viet Nam has had many agencies and organizations supporting trade and investment promotion. However, to timely access to trade opportunities, trade and investment connections for the Vietnamese community abroad and overseas businessmen and intellectuals to join hands, it is necessary to have a center of close connection between ministries such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Information and Communications and localities.

This center will coordinate trade and investment connection for the overseas Vietnamese with timely information on import and export needs, the project calling for investment to the right people, right job with fast and accurate promotion.

In fact, many overseas people, intellectuals, businessmen and entrepreneurs have technology and finance available for cooperating and financing these meaningful and urgent activities with high efficiency.

They always expect the Party, State and Government to create more favorable conditions for the generations of overseas Vietnamese to become more and more attached to their homeland, and to unanimously build a peaceful, rich and strong country, having the position and prestige in the same line with great powers as President Ho Chi Minh once desired.

(*) The author is Vietnamese American - Korean, FDI promotion specialist, Standing Committee of Association with Overseas Vietnamese, Manager of Entrepreneurship Camp Program - young overseas Vietnamese entrepreneurs, Co-founder of Vivietnam.org.

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