Deputy FM visits overseas Vietnamese in UK

London (VNA) – Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Cuong met with overseas Vietnamese students, intellectuals and businesspeople in the UK on June 16-17 as part of his working trip to the European country.

Cuong, who is also Head of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, expressed his pleasure at the increasing number of Vietnamese experts, intellectuals and entrepreneurs in the UK in recent years.

With over 100,000 people, the Vietnamese community in the UK is a valuable source of human resources for Vietnam and is serving as an important bridge to forge the relations between the two countries, he said.

He asked the associations of overseas Vietnamese in the UK to increase activities to promote solidarity, culture, and Vietnamese language, especially among younger generations, in the Vietnamese community.

The diplomat suggested establishing the association of Vietnamese intellectuals in the UK to strengthen their connection.

According to the Vietnamese Student Association in the UK (SVUK), among the 12,000 Vietnamese students learning and working in the UK, many have become lecturers and experts employed by educational establishments in the host country.

Vietnamese intellectuals in the UK hoped to contribute to the home country’s development in the fields of Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, fifth-generation (5G) network, plastic waste treatment, macro-economy, finance and banking.

They proposed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs support the organisation of the first forum of young academicians of the world in late July this year to foster connectivity between young scientists from Vietnam and other countries.

During his stay in the UK, Cuong had a working session with the Vietnamese Embassy in the UK to seek ways to further support the overseas Vietnamese community.-VNA