Seventy overseas Vietnamese from more than 20 countries and territories across the world on April 7 began a three-week visit to Vietnam with a trip to the northern midland province of Phu Tho.

The visitors will take part in the ongoing Hung Kings Temple Festival in Phu Tho, offering incense and taking part in the celebrations.

In the forthcoming week, the delegation will visit the birth place of late President Ho Chi Minh in central Nghe An province, and pay tribute to General Vo Nguyen Giap at his grave in the central province of Quang Binh.

During the next 13 days, they will visit and present gifts to officers, soldiers and people in Truong Sa Archipelago and join a requiem to commemorate Vietnamese soldiers and people who laid down their lives protecting the country’s sea and island sovereignty.

The programme offers a chance for overseas Vietnamese to return home and visit important places in the country and learn about its socio-economic development aims and achievements.

Deputy Foreign Minister and head of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, Nguyen Thanh Son, affirmed that the Vietnamese communities in foreign countries are an indispensable part of the country as they serve as a bridge connecting their homeland and their host countries.-VNA