Prime Minister: International students must have ideals, entering a new era with the country

The Prime Minister hopes that overseas Vietnamese students and the Vietnamese community in Chongqing will always abide by local laws, be united, love and help each other, and always look towards their homeland and country.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at a meeting with overseas Vietnamese students and the Vietnamese community in Chongqing city, China. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

According to a special correspondent of the Vietnam News Agency, on the occasion of attending the 8th Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Summit and visiting China for a working visit, on the morning of November 8, in Chongqing city, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met with overseas Vietnamese students and the Vietnamese community in Chongqing city.

Welcoming Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, the first Vietnamese leader to visit Chongqing in 15 years, Vietnamese Ambassador to China Pham Sao Mai said that there are currently 400 international students and nearly 600 Vietnamese people living, working and doing business in Chongqing, accounting for 25% of the total number of Vietnamese people studying, working and living in the western region of China.

Over the years, overseas Vietnamese students and the Vietnamese community in Chongqing city have always complied with local laws; always united, loved and helped each other; always turned towards their homeland and country and fostered good relations between Vietnam and China.

Representatives of overseas Vietnamese students and the Vietnamese community in Chongqing said that although they are always aware of preserving and promoting Vietnamese culture in the host country, due to limited conditions, the preservation of Vietnamese culture, especially the Vietnamese language among young overseas Vietnamese, is still limited; also due to limitations in language, understanding of the law, and administrative procedures, activities to attract investment, business, and trade are not as expected.

The people requested the Prime Minister to direct relevant ministries and branches to support the Vietnamese community in Chongqing to carry out legal procedures during their living, working and studying; and continue to request China to create conditions and grant more scholarships for Vietnamese students to study and research in Chongqing in particular and China in general.

Talking to overseas Vietnamese students and the Vietnamese community in Chongqing city, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh conveyed the best regards and congratulations of the Party and State leaders to overseas Vietnamese students and the Vietnamese community in Chongqing; expressed his emotion at the warm feelings of the people and wished that overseas Vietnamese students and the Vietnamese community studying, researching, doing business and living in Chongqing will always be healthy, united, happy and progressive in any circumstances and in any field.

Sharing about the arduous struggle for national independence and overcoming the consequences of war, as well as siege and embargo, the Prime Minister said that since 1986, in the context of being "pushed to the wall and bottom of the well," Vietnam has carried out the renovation process.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh with overseas Vietnamese students and the Vietnamese community in Chongqing city, China. (Photo: Duong Giang/VNA)

After nearly 40 years of renovation, from a country under siege and embargo, from a poor, backward, war-torn country with a GDP of only about 4 billion USD, and a GDP per capita of only about 100 USD, Vietnam now has diplomatic relations with 193 countries in the world, has comprehensive partnerships and comprehensive strategic partnerships with most major countries; has signed 17 free trade agreements.

GDP scale has increased to about 430 billion USD in 2023, per capita income reached about 4,300 USD; belonging to the group of 34 largest economies in the world and the top 20 economies in terms of trade.

Sharing about Vietnam's five successful lessons, the Prime Minister emphasized that it is necessary to firmly maintain the goal of national independence associated with socialism; strength from the people, the people make history; the strength of great national unity; combining national strength and the strength of the times; and the leadership role of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

The Prime Minister said that Vietnam's path to socialism is based on three main pillars: socialist democracy, a socialist rule-of-law state, and a socialist-oriented market economy.

Throughout that process, people are taken as the center, subject, driving force and resource of development; not sacrificing fairness, social progress, social security and the environment to pursue mere growth.

According to Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, there are currently more than 6 million Vietnamese people studying, researching, working, doing business, and living in 130 countries around the world. The Vietnamese community is not only a bridge of friendship between Vietnam and other countries, many people invest in Vietnam, especially in 2023, overseas Vietnamese sent home 14 billion USD in remittances.

The Prime Minister requested the Embassy and Vietnamese representative agencies in China to continue establishing organizations and associations to gather the community; effectively implement the foreign policy of the Party and State, including economic diplomacy; and take good care of all aspects of the community.

The Prime Minister hopes that overseas Vietnamese students and the Vietnamese community in Chongqing will always abide by local laws, unite, love and help each other, always look towards their homeland and country and foster good relations between Vietnam and China; especially overseas students must have ambitions, dreams, ideals, aspirations, make efforts to study, establish themselves, build a career and join the country in entering a new era - the era of national development./.

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