Bangkok (VNA) – Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Phan Chi Thanh has urged overseasVietnamese living in Chaiyaphum, Sakon Nakkhon and Nakkhon Phanom to contributemore to the development of these northeastern provinces and their homeland.

Duringhis visit to the three provinces from December 11-15, Thanh met with Governorof Chaiyaphum Kobchai Bunorana and Governor of Sakon Nakhon Monsit Paysanthanawat.The visit aimed to boost cooperation between Vietnam and Thailand and learnabout the life of Vietnamese people here.

Theprovincial leaders highly appreciated the Vietnamese community in Thailand,regarding them as a united community that has complied with local rules andmade great contributions to the provinces where they live.

TheVietnamese community has also played a part in strengthening the strategicpartnership between the two countries, and they have not only obeyed localpreventive measures against COVID-19 but also enthusiastically donated andsupported local hospitals as well as Thai families affected by the pandemic,the governors said.

Thegovernors said they want to expand cooperation with Vietnamese localities,especially those they share twinned relations such as Quang Binh and Ha Tinh.Governor of Chaiyaphum Kobchai Bunorana expected to boost ties with the centralprovince of Ha Tinh in the coming time.

Thanh,for his part, thanked the provincial leaders for providing the local Vietnamesecommunity with valuable assistance while asking them to continue supporting thecommunity, particularly in legal issues.

Thediplomat later met with leaders of the general association of Vietnamese peoplein Thailand and representatives of the Vietnamese community in the threeprovinces.

Hebriefed them on Vietnam’s political and economic situation as well as itsCOVID-19 prevention and control, saying that Vietnam is among countries in theworld that have brought the pandemic under control and it is also the onlyASEAN member state to experience a positive economic growth this year.

Hewent on to hail the Vietnamese expats in Thailand for raising more than 4billion VND (173,215 USD) in financial relief for survivors of the historicflooding in central Vietnam in November.

Thebilateral relations are growing strongly with Thailand ranking 9th among foreign investors in Vietnam on the global scale and second in SoutheastAsia, only after Singapore, he said.

Theambassador expected the Vietnamese expats will continue making contributions tothe development of Thailand and at the same time, seek investment opportunitiesin Vietnam and contribute further to bolstering the bilateral strategicpartnership.

Thanhalso encouraged them to step up education of Vietnamese language and culturefor young people to know more about their fatherland and stay connected withtheir roots./.