Role of overseas Vietnamese in the new phase of national development strategy

The homeland as a firm foundation

In 2025, the world continues to experience rapid and unexpected changes, with increasing strategic competition, conflicts arising in various regions, and intertwined economic, security, and social challenges, creating a risky and uncertain international environment. Many migrant communities face anxiety, integration pressures, and profound changes in policies and living environments.

Chairman of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Nguyen Trung Kien. (Photo: Thanh Long)

Amidst this gray backdrop, nearly 6.5 million Vietnamese living in over 130 countries and territories still look to their homeland as a steadfast spiritual anchor. The homeland becomes a source of strength, boosting confidence, attachment, and aspirations for development among overseas Vietnamese.

In this context, the approach to OV has timely evolved, not only focusing on care and support but also accompanying them in all circumstances. This fosters a broad space of solidarity where Vietnam is present through trust, culture, shared aspirations, and a common vision for a peaceful and prosperous future.

From connection to spreading Vietnamese values

In 2025, Vietnam's image is spread not only through official diplomacy but also through the lives of the OV community. In Singapore, the Vietnam Pho Festival 2025 attracted about 40,000 visitors, creating over 400 business connections between Vietnam and Singapore, leading to numerous valuable contracts and memorandums of understanding.

In Poland, the third Vietnam Cultural Festival held at the Old Town Square in Warsaw gathered thousands of spectators. In the Czech Republic, the OV community participated in the Ethnic Culture Day themed "Prague - The Heart of Nations", while the "Vietnamese Tet in Me" contest received 250 entries from 15 countries.

In France, programs like "Ici Vietnam Festival 2025", "Food and Book Festival", and "Vietnamese Film Festival" honoured Vietnamese-origin artists and filmmakers. In Germany, the Vu Lan Festival at Phuc Lam Pagoda (Potsdam) attracted nearly 1,000 Buddhists. In Greece, "Vietnam Day" in Edessa and Pella garnered attention from local authorities and residents.

In Canada, traditional Vietnamese tea art was showcased at the Wellington Multicultural Festival. In China, the "Colours of the Homeland" Vietnam Cultural Festival became a convergence point for music, cuisine, and traditional arts...

From food stalls and cultural stages to Vietnamese pagodas, Vietnam's image is being told through everyday stories with great spreading power. This is how Vietnamese values, from culture, cuisine, lifestyle to benevolence, are creating a "global Vietnamese space".

The connecting thread across generations

The year 2025 marks a significant shift in preserving the Vietnamese language—a foundation for community cohesion. Ten Vietnamese Bookshelves have been established in seven locations (Laos, Belarus, Sweden, Finland, Bulgaria, the UK, Republic of Korea), with nine being gifts from leaders.

In Finland, the Vietnamese Bookshelf is located at the Oodi Central Library, becoming the first Vietnamese reading corner in the Helsinki public library system, with over 120 titles and 160 bilingual prints. By the end of 2025, more than 6,300 books on Vietnamese history, culture, and people have been donated to communities in 20 locations.

The Vietnamese language is not only being "preserved" but is "alive" in community life. In China, the first online Vietnamese class has been launched; in Japan, the Vietnamese Language School System "Cay Tre" has three campuses; in Russia, the Upha community offers free classes; in Hungary, the first poetry and prose contest about overseas Vietnamese women attracted over 180 entries from 14 countries... Vietnamese is not just a language but a thread connecting the traditions and future of the global Vietnamese community.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang takes a photo with prominent OV delegates attending the 11th National Patriotic Emulation Congress, December 27, 2025. (Source: State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese)

Returning together, stronger partnership

In 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organized 10 major activity series for OV, with 90 events nationwide, attracting over 1,500 OV participants: Homeland Spring 2025 gathered nearly 1,000 OV; the Vietnamese Language Day celebration connected 100 locations domestically and internationally; OV delegations attended the Hung Kings Commemoration; the Great Solidarity Ship took OV to visit Truong Sa and DK1 rigs; Vietnam Summer Camp welcomed 110 OV youth from over 30 countries...

Notably, during the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National reunification, and the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day on September 2, for the first time, there was a separate OV parade. OV journalists from Germany, Belgium, the US, Canada... participated in activities, publishing hundreds of articles, spreading the image of a peaceful, developing Vietnam.

The year 2025 marks new transitions with substantial contributions from OV to national development. Remittances exceeded 16 billion USD. In terms of investment, there were 457 OV projects in Vietnam with total registered capital exceeding 1.7 billion USD.

In the field of knowledge, following community meetings with General Secretary To Lam, many OV experts were connected for domestic collaboration; Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh commissioned the training of 100 AI engineers. The 6th Global Young Vietnamese Intellectuals Forum gathered over 300 delegates from various countries, with experts from MIT, Cambridge, Google, Microsoft...

From remittances, investment projects to knowledge networks, OV are transitioning from "potential resources" to direct participants in implementing national development strategies.

A new position in the vision of the 14th National Party Congress

The foundational achievements and transitions in OV work in 2025 result from the development and unity within the OV community, the comprehensive involvement of the political system, and above all, the strategic shift in mindset and policies of the Party in the new phase, under the leadership of General Secretary To Lam.

Entering the 2026-2030 phase, as the country prepares to enter a new development era, in line with the spirit of the 14th National Party Congress, OV work needs to be elevated, linked with pillars of rapid and sustainable development, aiming for Vietnam to become a high-income developed country by 2045.

This orientation is based on the Party's new development mindset, concentrated in nine new core resolutions of the Politburo, issued during 2024-2025 and early 2026, covering key areas.

In this, the OV community is identified as a closely connected component with national resources, directly participating in the new development pillars of the country, from knowledge, technology, innovation, investment, national branding, to people-to-people diplomacy and "the people's heart strategy".

The Vietnamese community at the Homeland Spring 2026 event in Osaka, Japan. (Source: Organizing Committee)

Accordingly, based on the outstanding results of 2025, the orientation for OV work from 2026 needs to focus on five major shifts:

First, from "connection" to "co-creating development", where previously the focus was on connecting and mobilizing, from 2026, the OV community should be positioned as co-creators, participating in solving national development challenges.

Second, from "mobilization" to "institutionalizing resources", making OV a strategic resource for the country.

Third, from "preservation" to "spreading global Vietnamese values", aiming to form a "global Vietnamese cultural space", linked with the Vietnamese language, heritage, cuisine, arts, digital creativity..., connecting community activities with national branding strategies.

Fourth, from "OV community" to "global Vietnamese community", unified in aspirations, diverse in capabilities, connected by technology and trust.

Fifth, connecting with the 2045 vision, the OV community is not only an "inseparable part of the nation" but becomes a strategic resource for the country in the new era.

From every land where Vietnamese reside, from every cultural, intellectual, and sharing bridge, a "Vietnam space" is forming, where millions of hearts beat in unison towards the homeland.

On the journey towards 2045, the global Vietnamese community will undoubtedly be an indispensable part of the great Vietnamese family, of Vietnam's strength and pride in the new era of prosperous development.