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The Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA) in collaboration with the Central Committee of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and the State Commission for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs (SCOV) under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs held a seminar ‘Overseas Vietnamese intellectuals participating in national construction and development’ on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of VUSTA in Hanoi.
According to the SCOV, the number of people with university degrees or higher accounts for more than 10 percent of the total 5.3 million overseas Vietnamese, equivalent to about 600,000 people. They are intellectuals who come from home to study and work abroad, and intellectuals who are children of the second, third and fourth generations of Vietnamese in the host country, mainly in foreign countries. Every year, on average, about 300-500 Vietnamese experts, intellectuals and scientists from abroad return home for scientific and technological research.
Mr. Pham Viet Hung, head of the Department for Economic Relations, Science and Technology under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese, said that besides the achieved results, there have still many existing shortcomings in the implementation of the mechanisms and policies on attracting and appreciating overseas intellectuals. The policies that have been issued are not strong enough; they are mainly preferential treatment whereas the government has not created a good working environment. Worse, many current preferential regimes are no longer effective.
Commenting that the policy has given a lot but is not strong enough to encourage Vietnamese scientists and intellectuals to return home to contribute more, Chairman of Ho Chi Minh Union of Science and Technology Associations Dr. Nguyen Van Phuoc said that it is necessary to properly assess the potential, as well as the position and role of Vietnamese experts and intellectuals abroad to be able to offer specific mechanisms and policies which can encourage those experts and intellectuals contribute to the construction and development of the country.
Professor Nguyen Quoc Sy from Moscow National Energy University (the Russian Federation) acknowledged that attracting, gathering and effectively using overseas intellectuals is not simple. In addition, the government should take heed of the living and working environment, treatment, salary, housing, living, traveling, and child care centers to attract overseas intellectuals.
According to Mr. Pham Viet Hung, in order to attract overseas Vietnamese intellectuals, besides maintaining contact and cooperation with experienced experts, it is necessary to continually pay attention to the young generation of Vietnamese intellectuals. Overseas Vietnamese include the force of international students and their children of the second and third generation of overseas Vietnamese in western countries.
