Overseas Vietnamese are an important bridge in Vietnam-Japan cooperation.

Towards the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam , the draft documents of the Congress have reached a large number of people nationwide as well as overseas Vietnamese, including the Vietnamese community in Japan.

Speaking with a VNA reporter in Japan, Ms. Le Thuong, Vice President of the Federation of Vietnamese Associations in Japan and President of the Vietnamese Association in the Kansai region, shared her comments on the draft documents of the Congress, emphasizing the role of the overseas Vietnamese community as a bridge to develop bilateral cooperation.

According to Ms. Le Thuong, the draft documents of this Congress have many new points such as changes in the private economy, people's diplomacy , as well as science, technology and international integration.

She believes that these points are very suitable for the Vietnamese community abroad, especially in Japan. Strengthening the development of people-to-people diplomacy will contribute greatly to diplomatic activities between Vietnam and Japan.

In addition to the contribution of diplomatic missions, according to Ms. Le Thuong, overseas Vietnamese, specifically in Japan, will also play an important role in enhancing cooperation between localities and businesses of the two countries that are wishing to invest in each other's areas.

Ms. Le Thuong commented that overseas Vietnamese will be the easiest and most convenient bridge for cooperation when many people clearly understand the information, guidelines and new policies of the Party and State.

Ms. Le Thuong gave an example: organizing a meeting between a Japanese enterprise and a Vietnamese diplomatic representative agency would take a lot of time, but if it goes through local Vietnamese organizations and groups, this process could be much shorter.

This could be one of the new points of international integration when using people's diplomacy to enhance the role and position of Vietnamese people abroad.

Regarding the proposal to make international integration an important and regular task, Ms. Le Thuong said that it is necessary to attract intellectual experts to participate in the organization of Vietnamese associations in the host country, because they will be a very solid bridge for the development of culture as well as people's diplomacy.

Scene of the VPJ Financial Forum 2025 exchange. (Photo: Pham Tuan/VNA)

However, to enhance the role of those working in associations abroad, Ms. Le Thuong proposed that new regulations should be introduced to increase resources and create conditions for these people to contribute more.

For example, instead of letting associations operate spontaneously, there should be policies or mechanisms to encourage them to operate more systematically and long-term, thereby providing cooperation initiatives for local authorities.

Regarding the issue of preserving and promoting national cultural identity in international integration, Ms. Le Thuong said that the most effective and practical way to call on people to connect with their homeland is to organize programs and activities related to the locality such as Vietnam Day, Culture Day, organize exchanges with Japanese universities and Vietnamese language programs for children in Japan.

In addition, programs such as Spring Homeland and Hung King's Commemoration Day are also occasions for people to turn to their homeland and country. All of these activities receive enthusiastic support from local authorities in the regions, not just in certain areas.

Through these programs, local people and authorities will better understand Vietnamese cultural customs.

At the recent Osaka-Kansai International Exhibition, the Vietnam House successfully promoted Vietnamese culture. Therefore, Ms. Le Thuong believes that there should be more similar programs so that the country can coordinate with foreign associations in organizing cultural exchange activities.

Ms. Le Thuong hopes to have a Vietnamese Cultural Center in Japan. She said that the Vietnamese community in Japan is young and does not have much economic resources, so it is necessary to have cooperation from within the country to realize this wish.

Ms. Le Thuong emphasized that the Vietnamese community is the most effective bridge between the two countries, because they are the ones living and studying in Japan, understand the cultural exchange between the two cultures and can therefore support and contribute to the development of bilateral diplomatic relations.

According to Ms. Le Thuong, the Vietnamese community in Japan is growing and the second and third generations all want to preserve their mother tongue.

She hopes that in the future, Vietnamese universities and colleges will have a Faculty of Vietnamese Studies so that they can coordinate with associations in Japan to open Vietnamese language courses for people.

In a Vietnamese class in Japan, children are focusing on pronunciation following the teacher's instructions. (Photo: Nguyen Tuyen/Vietnam+)

This is very important because if the second and third generations do not know their mother tongue, they will not understand much about their homeland and Vietnamese culture, and thus will find it difficult to contribute effectively to the development of people-to-people diplomacy in the future.

Regarding the orientation of the private economy as the most important driving force of the economy and science and technology, innovation is the central driving force, Ms. Le Thuong said that this will help attract Vietnamese intellectuals abroad, including the network of Vietnamese intellectuals in Japan with many people who are now professors, doctors at schools, research institutes, intellectual experts in each field and businesses.

This will be a very good support team for connecting and organizing conference and talk programs between the two sides, while promoting the bridge in promoting and introducing the image of Vietnam to Japanese friends through cultural events as well as scientific, technological and academic activities.

According to Ms. Le Thuong, Vietnamese intellectuals abroad in general and in Japan in particular play a practical role in the development and application of science and technology.

Specifically, intellectuals who have lived in Vietnam and then gone to Japan to participate in the field of science and technology will understand what Vietnam needs in order to advise on policies suitable for the country.

In addition, she also said that it is necessary to create conditions for Vietnamese enterprises that are operating successfully in many countries and territories so that they can return home to invest and contribute to the country's construction and development in the new period./.

(TTXVN/Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/kieu-bao-la-cau-noi-quan-trong-trong-hop-tac-viet-nam-nhat-ban-post1078251.vnp