Attending the conference included Deputy Prime Minister cum Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh, Secretary of HCMC Party Committee Dinh La Thang, Chairman of HCMC People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong.

The conference aims to attract intellectuals and precious resources of Vietnamese overseas to build HCMC a modern-civilized-sentimental with better living quality, to uphold HCMC’s role in the process of industrialization and modernization of the country, to make HCMC one of the large economic-financial-commercial-scientific-technology centers of Southeast Asia.

In his opening speech, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh stated that it is the first large-scaled conference of Vietnamese overseas to be held in HCMC. The conference presented not only the desire of HCMC but also of the whole country in the context of expansion and international integration.

 “HCMC was not only the Pearl of Far East, but also an economic locomotive and a pioneer in the process of international integration today. The conference not only presents the desire of the State, HCMC’s authority and people but also of mass Vietnamese people abroad, including those who attend the conference today”, Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh said.

“The Party and State always define that Vietnamese Overseas Community is an integral part of Vietnamese people. Despite long distance, they are always patriots and look forwards to their original source. Vietnamese overseas is a linking bridge for strengthening friendship relations between Vietnam and other countries. Business activities and finance of Vietnamese overseas have become an important resource that effectively contributes to the economic development of Vietnam”, Mr. Pham Binh Minh stressed.

HCM CITYWEB