In Ho Chi Minh City, overseas Vietnamese women intellectuals and businesswomen shared views on the practical significance of Politburo Resolution No. 23-NQ/TW, issued on August 2, 2026, on work relating to Vietnamese people abroad, and put forward proposals to further strengthen the community’s contribution to national development.
Female ambassadors abroad
Professor and Doctor Phan Thi Tra My, Chairwoman of the Association of Vietnamese Enterprises in China, expressed particular support for Resolution No. 23-NQ/TW. The document identifies overseas Vietnamese as “cultural ambassadors” who can turn culture into a national resource and a source of soft power. My said the resolution addresses a fundamental principle: culture should not only be preserved but also shared with the world, becoming a source of soft power and a bridge connecting Vietnam with other countries.
Overseas Vietnamese women play a continuing role in this process. Vietnamese mothers speak Vietnamese with their children every day, prepare Vietnamese dishes, and preserve family traditions, lifestyles, and ways of interacting with others. Vietnamese women who wear the traditional ao dai in their host societies also introduce the country’s culture to international friends.
Tran Tue Tri, an overseas Vietnamese in Singapore and founder and CEO of the Stamford Global Leadership Centre, said Vietnamese women abroad play a role that is close to family life while also reaching wider society. In many families, mothers and grandmothers preserve the Vietnamese language, way of life, family meals, and stories about the homeland. For generations born overseas, these everyday things maintain a connection with their roots.
In modern life, overseas Vietnamese women can act as cultural ambassadors in different ways: mothers pass the Vietnamese language to their children, artists tell Vietnamese stories through their work, designers use Vietnamese materials in new products, and businesswomen connect domestic artisans with international markets.
Tri said she hoped every Vietnamese woman abroad could become a cultural ambassador in her own way. “Beyond introducing what Vietnam already has, we can also work together to create new values that inspire international friends to learn about Vietnam, experience its culture, and choose Vietnamese products,” the Singapore-based businesswoman said.
Turning the overseas community into a resource
Discussing Resolution No. 23, Tri said its most important feature was its recognition of overseas Vietnamese as co-creators of the country’s future, rather than merely people to be mobilised or supported.
To enable the community to contribute more effectively, approaches to working with it need to continue evolving. Tri proposed developing a database of overseas Vietnamese based on their capabilities, including expertise, experience, networks, and preferred forms of engagement. This would help match suitable people with specific challenges.
At the same time, she said a clear, transparent, and flexible mechanism for contributions was needed. She recommended focusing on outstanding experts, particularly younger generations, and proactively engaging young overseas Vietnamese through specific projects with clear objectives, timelines, and partners. Young people are attracted by opportunities to make an impact rather than general calls for contributions.
Professor and Doctor My voiced her support for Resolution No. 23 and said that, to mobilise the overseas Vietnamese community’s resources effectively, the document should soon be translated into concrete mechanisms, with clear contact points, practical cooperation programmes, and feedback on each proposal from overseas Vietnamese.
When every member of the community is heard and supported, national unity grows stronger. Each person can become a link between Vietnam and the world and help bring the best achievements of other countries to Vietnam.
Doctor Ngo Pham Tran, Chairwoman of the Association of Vietnamese Enterprises in Taiwan (China), said localities, particularly Ho Chi Minh City, should establish a focal agency to support overseas Vietnamese who want to return to Vietnam to pursue development opportunities or invest. Special mechanisms and preferential policies should be provided for those seeking to contribute to their homeland.
Drawing on her years of experience implementing investment and trade promotion programmes and connecting expertise in the city, Tran said Ho Chi Minh City’s dynamism, development, and ability to help businesses integrate rapidly into international markets made it an attractive place for overseas Vietnamese to invest and grow their businesses.
However, she recommended studying the possibility of establishing a separate legal framework for overseas Vietnamese rather than treating them as foreigners. She said such a framework would help attract committed members of the community to return and contribute to the city’s development, in line with the direction of Resolution No. 23.
Sources: VietnamPlus / Vietnam News Agency
