Resolution No. 36-NQ/TW on work with overseas Vietnamese

RESOLUTION

On the Work with Overseas Vietnamese

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I. SITUATION AND WORK WITH OVERSEAS VIETNAMESE IN RECENT TIMES

1- Currently, there are approximately 2.7 million Vietnamese residing in nearly 90 countries and territories, with over 80% living in developed industrialized countries. The majority of compatriots have increasingly stabilized their lives and integrated into the societies where they reside, holding certain positions in the economic and political-social life of host countries, exerting different levels of influence on the relations between those countries and Vietnam. In addition, in recent years, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese have gone abroad for labor, study, internship, family reunions, forming Vietnamese communities in some new areas.

The overseas Vietnamese community has a certain economic potential, maintains relationships with many foreign and international businesses and organizations, possesses the ability to seek partners and serve as bridges with domestic enterprises and organizations. Many intellectuals have high academic qualifications and expertise; some hold important positions in research and training institutions, companies, and international organizations, capable of establishing relationships with economic and scientific bases in host countries.

Despite living far from the homeland, compatriots always nurture and promote patriotic spirit, national pride, preserve cultural traditions, and maintain connections with their roots, families, and hometowns. Many have made significant contributions in both spiritual and material terms, including sacrifices, to the cause of national liberation and unification. The great achievements of the people in the reform and development of the economy, culture, and society, maintaining political and social stability, and continuously enhancing the country's international standing further consolidate national pride and patriotism among overseas Vietnamese. A large number of compatriots welcome the reform process and the policy of national solidarity of the Party and State, hoping for the prosperity of the country and its equal standing with other nations in the region and globally; many have returned to visit their families and hometowns, participating in investment, business activities, scientific and technological cooperation, education, culture, arts, sports, humanitarian, charitable activities... This situation represents the main trend in the overseas Vietnamese community.

However, Vietnamese in some countries still face difficulties in stabilizing their lives and have not been granted clear status, and in some places, they even suffer discrimination. A portion of compatriots, due to lack of opportunities to return home to see the achievements of the reform process or due to prejudices and complexes, have not fully understood the situation of the country. A small number of individuals act against the common interests of the nation, actively undermining the country and sabotaging cooperative relations between host countries and Vietnam. The level of community linkage and mutual support within the community is still low. There is a lack of measures to maintain and promote the fine cultural traditions of the nation; preserving the Vietnamese language and ethnic identity among younger generations remains challenging. The need for cultural exchange between the community and the homeland, maintaining and developing the Vietnamese language within the community is very significant and urgent but has yet to be adequately addressed. The contributions of compatriots to the construction of the country, especially in terms of knowledge, have not been commensurate with the potential of the overseas Vietnamese community.

2- Our Party and State have always considered the overseas Vietnamese community as an inseparable part of the Vietnamese national community, proposing numerous broad policies and specific measures to create increasingly favorable conditions for compatriots to visit the homeland, relatives, invest, engage in business, scientific and technological cooperation, and cultural-artistic activities. The work with overseas Vietnamese has been reformed and achieved notable results both domestically and internationally. Information and cultural services for the community have gradually been strengthened, particularly in broadcasting, television, and through the Internet. Positive changes have occurred in the coordination between functional agencies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, local authorities, and Vietnamese representative offices abroad.

However, the Party and State's policies towards overseas Vietnamese have not been thoroughly implemented. Research and advisory work on policies have not kept pace with new developments. Protection of the legitimate rights and interests of overseas Vietnamese has not received adequate attention. Policies already issued are not synchronized and do not fully reflect the spirit of national solidarity; they do not strongly encourage overseas Vietnamese to look towards their homeland and contribute to the country's development. There is no appropriate form to promptly and comprehensively provide information to compatriots about the situation of the country and the policies of the Party and State. The methods of mobilizing the community have not truly innovated, diversified, and flexibly enough to gather and motivate a large number of compatriots to participate in beneficial activities for the community and homeland. The identification, cultivation of positive factors, and recognition and encouragement of those with achievements are not sufficiently emphasized.

The main reasons for these weaknesses are that various levels, sectors, and mass organizations have not fully and deeply grasped the Party's guiding viewpoints on work with overseas Vietnamese. Many party committees and local authorities at all levels have not paid sufficient attention and have not regularly inspected and urged the implementation of this work. Coordination between related ministries and sectors, between central and local levels, and between domestic and international entities is still lacking. Agencies directly responsible for work with overseas Vietnamese have not been fully strengthened, and funding is limited.

II. GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND DIRECTIONS FOR WORK WITH OVERSEAS VIETNAMESE IN THE COMING PERIOD

1- Work with overseas Vietnamese must fully reflect the tradition of the whole nation's solidarity. The foundation of solidarity is national consciousness and patriotism, pride in the nation, and the common goal of all Vietnamese people to maintain national independence, territorial integrity, and to make the people prosperous, the country strong, society equitable, democratic, and civilized. Eliminate feelings of inferiority, prejudices, and discrimination based on the past or class background; foster an open spirit, respect, empathy, trust among each other, and look towards the future. All Vietnamese people, regardless of ethnicity, religion, origin, social status, or reasons for being abroad, who wish to contribute to achieving these goals are united within the whole-nation solidarity bloc.

2- Overseas Vietnamese are an inseparable part and a resource of the Vietnamese ethnic community, an important factor contributing to enhancing cooperative and friendly relations between our country and other countries. The State has the responsibility to negotiate with relevant countries on legal frameworks to ensure compatriots' stable lives and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the Vietnamese community abroad according to domestic laws, international conventions, and customary international law..

The Party and the State hope and encourage overseas Vietnamese to integrate and strictly comply with the laws of their host countries, focus on building a successful life, uphold national pride and dignity, preserve the Vietnamese language, cultural identity, and national traditions, unite and support each other, maintain close ties with family and homeland, contribute to enhancing cooperative and friendly relations between their host countries and Vietnam, and actively struggle against any actions that go against the common interests of the nation according to their abilities and conditions.

3- Work with overseas Vietnamese must be comprehensive, combining mechanism and policy development with mobilization efforts, integrating domestic activities with those abroad, and carried out through various forms and measures suitable for different targets and regions, based on voluntariness and without contravening the laws, customs, and practices of the host countries.

4- Work with overseas Vietnamese is the responsibility of the entire political system and the whole people. Party organizations, state agencies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and people's mass organizations, sectors, levels from central to local levels both domestically and abroad, and the entire people need to consider this as an important task to harness the strength of the whole-nation solidarity for the cause of building and defending the country.

III. MAJOR TASKS

1- The State creates favorable conditions and supports compatriots to stabilize their lives, engage confidently in business and living, integrate into the social life of the host country, while maintaining close ties with their homeland.

Through active diplomatic activities, mobilize the host country's authorities to create favorable conditions for compatriots to live and work normally; proactively conduct negotiations and sign necessary agreements with countries, including consular agreements, judicial cooperation agreements, to protect the legitimate rights and interests of compatriots, and combat discriminatory acts against overseas Vietnamese. Promptly and satisfactorily resolve issues related to citizenship for overseas Vietnamese.

Create favorable conditions for overseas Vietnamese to visit their homeland, relatives, and ancestral graves. Specifically implement and further improve regulations on entry and exit, residence, and travel within the country for overseas Vietnamese in a flexible, convenient, and simplified manner. Facilitate and promptly process procedures for overseas Vietnamese returning home or temporarily residing and working in the country; continue resolving existing issues related to purchasing housing, inheritance, marriage and family, adoption... involving overseas Vietnamese. Provide overseas Vietnamese with service fees equivalent to those for domestic citizens.

Adopt appropriate forms to collect opinions from compatriots abroad before issuing legal regulations and policies closely related to overseas Vietnamese.

2- Complete and develop new systems of policies to attract and utilize talented individuals, promote the contributions of overseas intellectuals to the country's development. Develop reasonable incentive systems for highly qualified Vietnamese experts and intellectuals abroad capable of advising on management, operation, high-tech transfer, and contribute to developing the country's culture and arts.

Develop and perfect policies to facilitate and encourage sectors, scientific research centers, cultural and artistic institutions, education and training facilities, healthcare, sports, production bases, services... in the country to expand cooperation, attract and utilize Vietnamese experts and intellectuals abroad to participate in domestic work, work on multilateral and bilateral cooperation programs and projects of Vietnam with foreign countries or in international organizations with quotas for Vietnamese, and advise in relations between Vietnam and foreign partners.

Leverage the overseas Vietnamese community to carry out mobilization and legal advisory activities in relation to their host countries.

3- Complete and develop new policies to attract overseas Vietnamese to invest and do business in the country. Emphasize small and medium-sized investments directly implemented by overseas Vietnamese or through relatives in the country. Expand and further facilitate remittance policies. Utilize the potential of overseas Vietnamese to provide services, establish and expand channels for selling Vietnamese goods, and cooperate and invest with foreign enterprises, organizations, and individuals.

Establish a coordination mechanism among competent agencies in handling cases related to businesses invested in by overseas Vietnamese, aiming to protect legitimate rights and interests of these businesses, deal with violations according to the law, contribute to creating a stable legal environment, and ensure that overseas Vietnamese investing and cooperating with domestic entities feel secure and confident.

4- Reform and diversify methods of mobilization and forms of organization with the purpose of uniting overseas Vietnamese to support each other, encourage activities directed towards the homeland, especially among young people, on a voluntary basis, in accordance with the law and local customs. Support projects by overseas Vietnamese aimed at this goal. Proactively expand contacts with overseas Vietnamese communities, including those who still have prejudices and complexes towards the State and our regime.

5- Actively invest in programs for teaching and learning Vietnamese for overseas Vietnamese, particularly for the younger generation. Develop and complete Vietnamese textbooks for overseas Vietnamese, improve Vietnamese language teaching programs via television, radio, and the Internet. Send Vietnamese teachers to areas where they can help overseas Vietnamese learn Vietnamese. Organize summer camps for overseas Vietnamese youth to speak Vietnamese.

Organize performances abroad by artistic groups, especially ethnic artistic groups, to serve the community. Create conditions for artists and athletes who are overseas Vietnamese to return home for performances, competitions, and participation in international performance and competition delegations. Regularly organize cultural exchange programs, literary and artistic exhibitions, seminars, and tours tracing roots.

6- Vigorously and comprehensively reform information dissemination and propaganda work to help overseas Vietnamese understand the situation of the country and policies of the Party and State correctly. Invest in programs for overseas Vietnamese by radio, television, and the Internet; pay attention to reforming the content, form, and technology of these programs. Support the establishment of newspapers, radio stations, and television stations outside the country. Build an online library to serve overseas Vietnamese living far from the homeland. Provide funding for transportation and simplify procedures for sending books, cultural products, and other items abroad to serve the community.

7- Complete the policy on rewarding overseas Vietnamese, institutionalizing the practice of rewarding organizations and individuals overseas Vietnamese who have made achievements in community building and contributions to national construction, as well as organizations and individuals domestically who have made achievements in mobilizing overseas Vietnamese. Resolve humanitarian issues left over from history reasonably and based on Vietnamese moral principles to implement the policy of great national unity, while taking appropriate measures to combat deliberate actions against national interests, damaging relations between countries with large Vietnamese populations and Vietnam, or causing divisions within the overseas Vietnamese community.

8- Party organizations, central and local state agencies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and people's mass organizations shall actively participate in work with overseas Vietnamese according to their functions and tasks. Establish a close coordination mechanism between the Committee for Overseas Vietnamese and relevant agencies, the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and people's mass organizations, both domestically and internationally. Consolidate and develop social organizations engaged in mobilizing overseas Vietnamese, such as the Association for Contact with Overseas Vietnamese, associations of relatives of overseas Vietnamese, and other legitimate forms of organization suitable to the wishes and characteristics of the community in the area of residence.

Diplomatic representative offices abroad have the responsibility to consider work with overseas Vietnamese as a major political task, intensifying efforts to protect citizens and safeguard legitimate rights and interests of overseas Vietnamese; actively and proactively increase contact, mobilization, and promotion of the Party and State's policies to the community.

The Committee for Overseas Vietnamese needs to be strengthened with organizational structure, staffing, and operational means to meet the demands of the new situation. Increase specialized staff for work with overseas Vietnamese at diplomatic representative offices of Vietnam in places with large Vietnamese populations. Some ministries, sectors, and provinces, cities with many ties to overseas Vietnamese should have units assisting leadership bodies in work with overseas Vietnamese. Supplement funding for this work.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION

1- The Party Cadre Team of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will coordinate with the Party Cadre Team abroad and related agencies, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, and people's mass organizations to widely disseminate this resolution to cadres, party members, and all strata of the population domestically and to the overseas Vietnamese community.

2- The Party Cadre Team of the Government will concretize the content of the resolution into action programs, mechanisms, and policies, and direct ministries, sectors, and localities to implement them.

3- The Party Group of the National Assembly and the Party Cadre Team of the Government will base on the content of the resolution to build and perfect related legal documents concerning overseas Vietnamese.

4- Provincial Party Committees, Municipal Party Committees, Party Cadre Teams, Party Groups, and Central Party Committees directly under the Central Committee, and Central Party Committees shall plan the implementation of the Resolution.

The Party Cadre Team of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Party Cadre Team abroad, will assist the Secretariat and the Politburo in monitoring the implementation of the Resolution. The Secretariat will organize inspections and regularly hear reports on the situation and work with overseas Vietnamese.