An official document based on Vietnam's policy towards local andinternational immigration was made public in the capital city on Dec. 21for the first time.Speaking at the event, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Thanh Son saidthat the country had experienced quite a few international immigrationactivities in recent years. "More than 4 millionVietnamese people are living/working or studying in more than 100countries across the world at present," Son said. Theminister noted that the Government's open policy towards internationalintegration was a key factor enabling Vietnamese citizens to settle,study, work or travel abroad. "Immigration activitiesamong Vietnamese nationals are on the rise. They are diverse in form andcomplicated in nature," Son commented. He added that,similar to other developing countries, Vietnam has been facing bothopportunities and challenges arising from heavy migration. "Promoting legal and safe immigration alongside the rights and legalinterests of migrants is the unswerving policy of the VietnameseGovernment," he confirmed. According to the minister,Vietnam wants to promote its co-operation with other countries in theregion and internationally via the sharing of experiences, informationand data relating to immigration. Professor Dang NguyenAnh, consultant group team leader, provided a comprehensive report ondomestic immigration activities since 1986 when the country first openedits doors to the outside world, briefing participants on existingVietnamese legal documents based on international immigration. In addition, Anh recommended the development of the Vietnamese legalsystem on migration as well as coordination and information sharingbetween ministries and relevant agencies as well as internationalpartners to help improve local capacity building. Among theparticipants were ambassadors from the European Union, the US ,Australia and South Korea as well as representatives fromVietnamese and international organisations, including the InternationalOrganisation of Migration. The same day an OnlineImmigation Portal was launched to provide information aboutinternational immigation to Vietnamese people wishing to go to othercountries./.