Speaking to the press on January 4, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Thanh Son, who is also Director of the committee, said that the anniversary is the affirmation of the Party and State’s special attention to the affairs of overseas Vietnamese and its continued support for disseminating President Ho Chi Minh’s thought and morals to people in and outside the country.

There will also be a spring programme on the traditional Lunar New Year, also known as Tet, and a welcome ceremony for outstanding overseas Vietnamese returning home for the holiday. The committee will organise a summer camp for young overseas Vietnamese and a festival in Berlin, Germany for overseas Vietnamese youths and students from all parts of the world.

In reviewing events held for overseas Vietnamese in 2009, Son noted that in addition to the first congress of the Overseas Vietnamese Entrepreneurs Association, the first overseas Vietnamese conference was held with the participation of almost 900 Vietnamese expatriates from 52 countries and territories.

The visa exemption and the amendment to the Laws on Nationality, Housing and Land facilitated overseas Vietnamese’s visits to their relatives, tours and investment, thus contributing to the national construction, Son said.

These practical activities and policies not only attracted overseas Vietnamese to the homeland but also helped them better understand the Party and State’s policies on great national unity, he added.