On behalf of the overseas Vietnamese delegation, he also spoke of the community’s responsibility to contribute to national solidarity and help Vietnam become more prosperous.

The city has licensed 486 projects worth VND2 trillion (US$114 million) that overseas Vietnamese have invested in, and another 12 projects capitalized at more than $1.3 million in 2008.

Foreign remittances via the city’s banking system reached $5.5 billion last year, a 52.8 percent year-on-year increase.

Last year, the city’s Tan Son Nhat International Airport received about 373,000 overseas Vietnamese visitors.

Reported by Truong Son