(VOVworld) – The Union of Vietnamese People Associations in Europe convened the first congress in Prague, Czech Republic, on Saturday.

Truong Thi Ngoc Anh, VFF’s Vice President, addresses at the conference. (Photo: Mai – Vinh/baotintuc.vn)

Attended the event were representatives of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF), the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, Vietnamese ambassadors, and more than 100 delegates representing Vietnamese People Associations from 15 European countries.

Truong Thi Ngoc Anh, VFF’s Deputy President, praised the initiative of establishing the union. She said: “The establishment of the Union of Vietnamese People Associations in Europe will tighten the relations among Vietnamese communities. Through the organization, they can exchange information and ways to help each other in various fields, especially in studying laws of host countries to fulfill the citizens’ duties. The organization will help promote movements to improve overseas Vietnamese’s lives and contributions to the homeland.”

Nguyen Ngoc Son, Vietnamese Ambassador to France, which has the largest number of Overseas Vietnamese  in Europe, said the new organization ill play a key role in protecting the legitimate rights of Vietnamese people in Europe.
He said: “There will be two channels relating to the protection of the legitimate rights of Vietnamese people abroad. The first is Vietnam’s representative agencies in Europe and the second is via Vietnamese associations in the host countries. The establishment of the union will boost closer coordination of Vietnam’s organizations across Europe in protecting rights for Vietnamese people and supporting Vietnamese people to fully integrate into the host nations.”

The congress adopted the union’s charter, elected a 30-member executive board led by Hoang Dinh Thang, President of the Vietnamese People Association in the Czech Republic.