The General Association of Vietnamese in Belgium will be established to strengthen solidarity within the Vietnamese community. The information was unveiled at Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Thanh Son’s meeting with Vietnamese residents and students in Belgium on October 1. Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Son briefed them on the country’s socio-economic situation and remarkable changes over the years. He reiterated the Vietnamese Party and State’s policies which consider the overseas Vietnamese an integral part of the Vietnamese nation, and called on them to further contribute to the homeland. Son who is also Head of the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, pledged to do his utmost to help the overseas Vietnamese do business for the benefit of the homeland. The Deputy Minister appreciated the contribution by overseas Vietnamese to purchasing equipment for soldiers who are doing guard duty on Truong Sa islands. The State, he said, will arrange for overseas Vietnamese to visit the Truong Sa archipelago from March 15 to April 30 next year. Son also expressed his wish to set up a provisional executive committee before the coming congress to establish a General Association of Vietnamese in Belgium. Tang Van Hai, the first Chairman of the Vietnamese Association for Solidarity in Belgium in the 1973-1979 period affirmed that the Vietnamese community in Belgium has agreed on the 14-member composition of the provisional executive committee of the General Association of Vietnamese headed by Huynh Cong My. The congress will be held in November to mark the 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and Belgium. VOV