Making the Vietnamese community an ethnic minority in Poland

On the evening of January 16, in Warsaw, during his official visit to Poland, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his wife Le Thi Bich Tran and the Vietnamese delegation met with officials and staff of the Embassy and the Vietnamese community in Poland.

Đưa cộng đồng người Việt thành dân tộc thiểu số tại Ba Lan- Ảnh 1. — Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, his wife Le Thi Bich Tran and the Vietnamese delegation met with officials and staff of the Embassy and the Vietnamese community in Poland. Photo: Nhat Bac

Also attending the meeting were Mr. Nguyen Van Nen, Politburo member, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, members of the Party Central Committee, leaders of ministries, departments, branches, central and local agencies, and members of the working delegation.

In addition to many overseas Vietnamese, the meeting was also attended by a number of Polish friends, such as Mr. Franciszek Zwierzynski - a veteran who participated in the armistice committees after the 1954 Geneva Agreement and the 1973 Paris Agreement on Vietnam.

The meeting also included Ho Chi Dung, son of comrade Ho Chi Toan - a Polish Jew, whose real name was Stefan Kubiak, who was captured by the French to join the Foreign Legion, but soon became enlightened and joined the Viet Minh and was adopted by Uncle Ho. Ho Chi Dung has been associated with the embassy for many years, contributing much effort to the construction, renovation and beautification of the Vietnamese Embassy in Poland.

Examples of successful immigrant communities

Reporting to the Prime Minister and the delegation, Vietnamese Ambassador to Poland Ha Hoang Hai informed that two-way trade turnover in 2024 will reach over 3 billion USD, making Poland Vietnam's largest trade partner in Central and Eastern Europe. Poland has increased the agreement scholarships for Vietnam from 20 to 50 per year, and the number of Polish tourists visiting Vietnam in 2024 will reach a record 50,000.

The Vietnamese community in Poland currently has about 30,000 people, considered a typical successful immigrant community in Poland.

Vietnamese people in Poland own a number of large businesses in food, wholesale, and e-commerce; some overseas Vietnamese in Poland have returned home to invest relatively successfully, especially in the fields of real estate, finance, and education.

There are currently 7 scientists who have been awarded the title of national professor in Poland, including Professor Nguyen Ngoc Thanh (Wroclaw University of Technology) who is a member of the Polish State Council of Professors. In 2024, for the first time, a person of Vietnamese origin was elected to the district council in the capital city of Warsaw.

The Vietnamese community in Poland always looks towards their homeland and country, as recently they donated about 1.8 billion VND to support people in the country affected by storm No. 3.

Referring to events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Europe, or the fire at the Marywilska Shopping Center No. 44 in Warsaw, where there were hundreds of Vietnamese stalls (May 2024), Mr. Tran Anh Tuan, member of the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and Chairman of the Association of Vietnamese in Poland, said that after each difficulty, the Vietnamese community in Poland became more united and stronger.

Mr. Tran Trong Hung, Chairman of the Vietnamese Business Association in Poland, said there are currently 2,000 Vietnamese restaurants in Poland.

Overseas Vietnamese made recommendations to the Party and State regarding the restoration of Vietnamese nationality; granting identity cards to Vietnamese people abroad; teaching Vietnamese in Poland; promoting Vietnamese culture; promoting the recognition of the Vietnamese community as an ethnic minority in Poland, etc.

Professor Cao Long Van, lecturer at Zelona Gora University, Poland, said that a school of physics originating from Albert Einstein has been formed with many members at universities in Vietnam.

Professor Cao Long Van made a number of recommendations and proposals related to creating conditions for this school of physics to develop, as well as strengthening cultural cooperation, cultural and artistic training cooperation between Vietnam and Poland.

"Very proud of the Vietnamese community in Poland"

On the occasion of the New Year, on behalf of the Party and State leaders, the Prime Minister sent his best wishes to the Vietnamese community in Poland. "We are very proud of the Vietnamese community in Poland" - the Prime Minister emphasized and said that during this visit, he will attend the Homeland Spring program to wish overseas Vietnamese in Poland a Happy New Year.

Spending most of the time responding to each of the 10 proposals and recommendations from the people, the Prime Minister said he would direct the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and relevant agencies to review regulations related to nationality.

The Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinate with the Vietnamese Embassy to work with local agencies to promote the teaching of Vietnamese as a foreign language in Polish schools.

The Prime Minister also requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance to study increasing regular spending on activities of the Vietnamese community and cultural days in Vietnam abroad.

The Prime Minister said that during his visit, he discussed with the President and Prime Minister of Poland about promoting the recognition of the Vietnamese community as an ethnic minority, and asked overseas Vietnamese and the Embassy to actively participate in promoting this.

Also during the exchange, Polish leaders affirmed that they will soon ratify the Vietnam - EU Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and Poland will not be the last country to do so.

The Prime Minister directed the Ministry of Public Security and relevant agencies to review regulations and problems related to identification; requested overseas Vietnamese to continue to report these problems in detail so that the agencies can resolve them.

The Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Science and Technology to study, amend regulations, and remove obstacles related to funding to support scientific research topics, including research by overseas Vietnamese, to mobilize intellectual resources for national development.

Regarding the proposal to facilitate the Albert Einstein school of physics, the Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Science and Technology to preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Education and Training to research and handle.

In particular, the Prime Minister expressed his great appreciation for the proposal to promote cultural cooperation between the two countries. He asked the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to promote cooperation in this field with Poland, including the granting of scholarships.

Absolutely no negativity or harassment

With the Embassy, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested that it closely follow and grasp the situation accurately, accurately and promptly to advise the Party and State, propose clear people, clear work, clear time, clear responsibility, clear products; and promote the increasingly good development of the relationship between the two countries.

Along with that, continue to do a good job of overseas Vietnamese in accordance with the viewpoint that "the overseas Vietnamese community is an inseparable part of the Vietnamese ethnic community", especially the Embassy must find the fastest way to approach overseas Vietnamese when they encounter difficulties and hardships and have a network to connect as quickly as possible, consider overseas Vietnamese as family members, put yourself in the situation of overseas Vietnamese to solve problems with all your heart, absolutely no negativity or harassment.

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