Chairman of the National Assembly Trần Thanh Mẫn with the staff of the Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnamese community in Türkiye. — VNA/VNS Photo

ISTANBUL — Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Trần Thanh Mẫn and his wife Nguyễn Thị Thanh Nga, along with the high-ranking delegation of Việt Nam, met with the staff of the Vietnamese Embassy and the Vietnamese community in Türkiye late on April 17 (local time).

The meeting in Istanbul formed part of the top legislator’s trip to attend the 152nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU-152) and bilateral activities in Türkiye.

Chairman Mẫn informed participants about the homeland’s outstanding achievements in various fields last year, attributing those enormous successes to the leadership of the Party, the engagement by the entire political system, and joint efforts by people both at home and abroad, including the Vietnamese community in Türkiye.

He also updated them about Việt Nam’s recent important milestones, including the successful organisation of the 14th National Party Congress, the election of deputies to the 16th NA and all-level People’s Councils for 2026–2031, and the political apparatus streamlining.

Expressing sympathy for the overseas Vietnamese on the difficulties facing them, the top legislator noted that the NA and the Government amended many policies to ensure benefits for embassy staff.

Currently, the NA was also considering amendments and supplementations to the Law on Overseas Representative Missions of the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam to enhance their effectiveness and efficiency, especially in citizen protection, community support, and inter-agency coordination.

In particular, the parliament passed important laws, particularly in the fields of civil registration, land, housing, and real estate business, to facilitate overseas Vietnamese’s investment and business activities in the homeland.

Chairman Mẫn expressed his hope that the Vietnamese in Türkiye would remain united, support each other, build an increasingly strong community, integrate well, abide by the laws of the host country, and maintain a positive image of the Vietnamese people.

At the same time, he asked them to continue preserving and spreading the national cultural identity while upholding the Vietnamese language and family traditions so that the younger generations, even those born and raised abroad, would always remember their roots.

He requested the embassy to continue helping to promote investment ties between businesses of the two countries, support the community in building a better life in Türkiye, and further enhance its role as a common home, a source of spiritual encouragement, and a place to unite the community, thus fostering a sense of belonging and connection to their homeland.

According to Ambassador Đặng Thị Thu Hà, the Vietnamese community in Türkiye numbers approximately 200. Despite being far from the homeland, they still follow news from home daily and rejoice in the country's progress and strong integration into the world.

Though there are currently no Vietnamese people associations in Türkiye, the embassy, together with the community, has established a community liaison board and is actively working towards establishing an association, so that the community can have a common home for strengthening unity and mutual support.

Lưu Thái Hưng, a member of the community liaison board, affirmed that wherever they are, Vietnamese people in Türkiye would always abide by the local laws. Members of the community had actively supported each other when facing difficulties such as natural disasters and calamities. Notably, they stood side-by-side with Vietnamese rescue teams during the historic earthquake in southeastern Turkey in early 2023.

He proposed the NA and the Government continue creating favourable conditions for overseas Vietnamese to obtain dual citizenship, handle residency procedures when returning to Việt Nam, maintain Vietnamese language teaching for future generations, and preserve the traditional culture. — VNA/VNS