Nearly 600 overseas Vietnamese (OVs) from different countries, who have returned home to celebrate the Lunar New Year (Tet) festival, attended a spring gathering in Ho Chi Minh City on January 7.

Under the theme of “Overseas Vietnamese, a bridge linking Vietnamese brands,” the event provided an opportunity for OVs to meet business partners and exchange experiences in promoting Vietnamese products to OV communities and foreign markets.

As a bridge linking Vietnam with other nations, OV businesses play an important role in bringing Vietnamese products to the EU, France, US and many other countries.

Quach Hung Tong, an OV from the US, who has more than 20 years of experiences in exporting processed food to the US and Hong Kong, said Vietnamese food has great potential in large markets such as the US and Canada.

According to Tong, these markets are home to a large number of OVs and immigrants from India , Thailand , China , the Republic of Korea and the Philippines who also like Vietnamese products. Tropical products from Vietnam are also favoured by people of European origins.

Nguyen Hai Nam , President of the Vietnamese Business Association in France , said assistance from domestic agencies and commercial offices overseas in organising trade fairs and promotions is very significant for promoting Vietnamese trademarks abroad.

The Association for Liaison with Overseas Vietnamese says, to facilitate business activities for OVs, the State should simplify investment and residency procedures and offer more attractive incentives to create more favourable conditions for OVs and OV businesses./.