At the meeting, Chairwoman of the Overseas Vietnamese Association in Finland, Nga Nguyen said that nearly 5,000 overseas Vietnamese are living in Finland, including more than 500 pupils and students studying there.

The Finnish Government appreciates the overseas Vietnamese community for their hardworking spirit and adherence to the law. Many Vietnamese young people have succeed in life and business by holding important positions in major Finnish firms or running Vietnamese restaurants.

Mr Triet praised the overseas Vietnamese for their efforts to unite and integrate into the community in their country of residence.

“I hope that Vietnamese nationals will always uphold their national traditions to make positive contributions to Finland and to their homeland as well. The Vietnamese Embassy should help overseas Vietnamese to preserve their cultural identity by keeping their mother tongue.”, Mr Triet emphasised.

The State leader also informed the overseas Vietnamese community of the outcome of his visit, in which Finland pledged to continue to create the best possible conditions for overseas Vietnamese to live and do business.

At the meeting with staff from the Vietnamese Embassy in Finland, Mr Triet called on the embassy to perform its role as a centre to enhance solidarity among overseas Vietnamese and create favourable conditions for them to make contributions to their homeland.

Earlier, Mr Triet visited a forest farm to learn more about forestry economic development and wood harvesting. Forestry is the second biggest industrial sector in Finland. For Finnish people, afforestation is not only about job creation but also part of their culture and a hobby for many Finnish people to speed up socio-economic development and protect the environment.