The spiritual fulcrum of overseas Vietnamese

“Vietnamese people going abroad, wherever they are, they have to make twice or three times as much effort as the natives to stabilise and develop their lives. Their lives are hard, so they need a spiritual fulcrum. Homeland is a great spiritual fulcrum for them”, Chairman of Vietnamese Association in Russia Do Xuan Hoang excitedly started his story.

For Vietnamese people in Russia, the COVID-19 pandemic is a thing of the past, but the pain is still there somewhere. The dangers of COVID-19 are the same everywhere. Therefore, when Vietnam entered the fight, Vietnamese people in Russia were worried and insecure. Resources, budget and the health system in Vietnam were limited. If the country had been unable to deal with the epidemic or let the virus spread out of control, the consequences would have been extremely scary. However, fortunately, the world had found effective countermeasures and Vietnam also quickly caught up with these advances.

Do Xuan Hoang shared that he and Vietnamese people in Russia were pleased and proud when Vietnam overcame the COVID-19 pandemic spectacularly. “I am proud because although Vietnam has many limitations on science and techniques and the development in many areas has not been compared with Western countries, the results in the fight against the pandemic were not inferior to them”.

Vietnam has written a miracle story as it not only effectively controlled the pandemic but also quickly recovered the economy and kept up with the demands of the times to rise strongly. For the Chairman of the Vietnamese Association in Russia, these achievements proved that internal strength of the country’s economy is capable of coping with unprecedented events with unpredictable complexity.

Having left to Russia at the age of 18 and then successfully defending his doctoral thesis in international economics, Hoang has gained many successes in the food industry and has owned many companies in Russia, Vietnam and abroad. He is happy to witness the positive changes in Vietnamese people’s lives. In many rural areas of Vietnam, industrial parks have sprouted, and their appearances are more spacious. According to Hoang, in general, Vietnam's biggest achievements in recent years have been poverty reduction and the improvement of the people’s intellectual level and lives both in urban and rural areas.

“Through many wars to defend the great Fatherland, Vietnam was devastated. I still remember the evacuation over the Red River’s pontoon bridge. On the nights when the wind howls, I sit in the tunnel while bombs were exploding above. In the 1980s, Vietnam's infrastructure was still underdeveloped. Rising up in the context of complex global competition, the achievements that the country can do as today are admirable. One of the expectations of Vietnamese expatriates is that the country continues to develop stably, despite many challenges”, Hoang said.

The challenges stressed by Hoang is the geopolitical disputes causing the decline of the international trade, affecting the speed of economic development. Meanwhile, Vietnam's infrastructure development has not kept pace with economic growth. The investment into traffic has been strong but the effect has not been as expected. Hoang also expected that the private sector will be further strengthened because it is a great driving force for the country's development. In addition, the quality of human resources and innovation must continue to be promoted, in order to compete more effectively with other countries in the region and the world.

In addition, Vietnam also needs to focus on dealing with environmental challenges.

Vietnam has passed a difficult but miraculous period. The position of the "S-shaped land” has been constantly improved. The colleagues, officials, experts on Vietnam and Russian people have always great respect for Vietnam. The image of poor Vietnam is no longer there, instead, it is a country with a rapid and vibrant development. “It is more important to promote the results and keep moving forward. Vietnam's developed economy and increased imports and exports mean that business opportunities for overseas Vietnamese also rise. The Vietnamese community abroad is strong, which means more resources will be paid to the homeland”, Hoang added.