Vietnamese entrepreneurs living overseas gathered in Hanoi on August 10 to set up a special association, which Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem applauded as “an important resource for the nation”.

At the meeting, attended by nearly 300 members of the newly-minted Overseas Vietnamese Entrepreneurs’ Association, arriving from nearly 40 countries and territories across the globe, Khiem said the establishment of the association marked the first and most important milestone on the road towards creating a strong overseas Vietnamese business circle.

After pledging the Government’s strong support for the association, the Deputy PM asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry as well as local administrations to accommodate and facilitate its development.

He also called on the Committee on Overseas Vietnamese to fulfil its duties as a liaison between the association and the people at home.

Pham Nhat Vuong, President of the Technocom Group in Russia , was elected as Chairman of the newly-established association. He promised to uphold the association’s role in promoting trade and protecting members’ interests in international business transactions.

“The association will provide a common roof for the entire Vietnamese community abroad to grow and contribute a new driving force to the national economy. Efforts will be made to speed up global integration and improve Vietnam ’s trademark in the eyes of international investors and partners,” said its president.

In the first term, the association plans to expand operations wherever there are overseas Vietnamese businesses, launch promotion campaigns and hold exchange programmes between overseas Vietnamese entrepreneurs and their partners at home.

Association members are also likely to work with responsible agencies to understand the demands for development, investment and business in their resident countries so as to provide accurate counsel to domestic businesses.

Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Thanh Son, who is also Chairman of the State Committee on Overseas Vietnamese, said that Vietnamese business circles abroad are growing fast and having a strong positive influence on the almost 4 million-strong overseas Vietnamese community, along with contributing to multi-faceted relations between Vietnam and the resident countries, as well as the international community.

Overseas Vietnamese entrepreneurs are present in almost every country and territory worldwide. Some of them possess assets worth billions of USD and employ thousands of workers.

Overseas Vietnamese businesses are investing in some 3,000 projects capitalised at almost 2 billion USD in the fatherland.

In 2008, remittances sent home by overseas Vietnamese reached over 7 billion USD despite the global recession./.