Unleashing overseas Vietnamese resources for national development

Over the past two decades, overseas Vietnamese have become an important resource for the country. Remittances grew from US$2.3 billion in 2004 to US$17.7 billion in 2025, demonstrating the significant contribution of the overseas Vietnamese community. However, viewing this resource solely through financial capital leaves the potential of more than 6.5 million overseas Vietnamese largely untapped.

Beyond financial capacity, overseas Vietnamese resources also lie in a team of intellectuals, scientists, entrepreneurs, technology experts, and experienced managers with networks connecting international organizations, businesses, universities, and research centers. These resources cannot simply be "attracted" back home, but need to be connected with domestic development needs through suitable mechanisms.

Therefore, the problem in the new phase is not just how to get overseas Vietnamese to contribute more, but how to help those with the capacity and desire to contribute find the right places, the right needs, and a sufficiently favorable mechanism to turn that capacity into value for the country. This is also a notable point in the spirit of Resolution No. 23: shifting from mobilization and attraction to accompanying, connecting, and creating conditions for overseas Vietnamese to directly participate in the country's development process.

Moving from "mobilization" to "accompaniment"

In the United States, which has a large Vietnamese community of intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and experts across various fields, Consul General of Vietnam in San Francisco Hoang Anh Tuan believes that the most important change first lies in mindset.

"We must not only view overseas Vietnamese as a group to be mobilized, but also recognize the overseas Vietnamese community as an integral part of the Vietnamese national community and a major resource that can contribute to the cause of national construction and development," Tuan emphasizes

"Accompaniment" here is not simply about increasing community support activities. More deeply, it means changing how needs are identified and how resources are connected.

An effective approach does not necessarily require overseas Vietnamese to return home to work permanently. What is more important is creating various forms of participation: remotely, project-by-project, through professional expertise, or via businesses, research institutes, universities, and specific cooperation programs.

Thus, instead of asking "how to bring resources back to the country," it may be necessary to ask a broader question: "how can Vietnam connect with those resources, wherever they are?"

According to Consul General Hoang Anh Tuan, this is precisely the point that needs to be materialized: "I believe the most important thing in the coming period is to translate the spirit of Resolution 23 into concrete mechanisms, policies, and actions. When overseas Vietnamese see substantive accompaniment, feel their contributions valued, and have a favorable environment to thrive, the community's resources will be powerfully unleashed."
 

When overseas Vietnamese act as "subjects"

The term "subjects" mentioned in Resolution 23 carries notable significance. Applied to work regarding overseas Vietnamese, this transformation requires not only overseas Vietnamese to change how they participate, but also domestic agencies to change how they work with the community.

Vietnamese representative missions abroad need to grasp community dynamics and understand the strengths of each group and area. Domestic ministries, sectors, and localities should clearly define their needs, while businesses and research institutions require the capacity to absorb these resources, giving overseas Vietnamese clear channels to participate.

According to Consul General of Vietnam in Khon Kaen (Thailand) Dinh Hoang Linh, an important direction is strengthening connections between domestic and overseas Vietnamese businesses, between domestic enterprises and organizations and the overseas Vietnamese community, while reinforcing two-way trust between the country and the community.

"Through this, overseas Vietnamese can foster their capabilities, intellect, experience, and resources, while asserting more clearly the role and position of the overseas Vietnamese community in the country's new development era," he says.

After more than two decades, the foundation of work regarding overseas Vietnamese has been consolidated. Large remittance flows, investment activities, and increasingly diverse networks of intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and communities demonstrate the huge  potential for contributions from overseas Vietnamese.

Resolution 23 sets out a new approach, but its true impact will be determined in implementation: what mechanisms take shape, what connections endure, and most importantly, what resources actually yield  development results.

This marks the real progress in overseas Vietnamese affairs for the new era, moving beyond trying to bring resources back home, toward building bridges that enable  the resources of Vietnamese worldwide to jointly engage in national development.

Resolution 23 puts overseas Vietnamese at the heart of national development

VOV.VN - The Politburo’s Resolution 23 calls for a new approach to the overseas Vietnamese community, strengthening ties with more than 6.5 million Vietnamese people abroad and harnessing their knowledge, resources and connections for national development.