Migration is a global trend, challenging many countries -- including Vietnam -- to retain and attract talent, heard a symposium held in Ho Chi Minh City on Monday and Tuesday.

Speaking at the Vietnam Symposium on Global Economic Issues at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Banking, economic expert Dr. Do Quy Toan said that migration is a challenge to economic growth.

The world has around 184 million migrants, equivalent to 2.3 percent of the global population.

Nearly half of the total come from low- or medium-income nations.

The world is grappling to cope with global economic imbalance, population dispersion, and climate change, leading to a potential surge in migrants over the next few decades.

Dr. Toan told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that Vietnam has to wrestle with other countries to gain a high-quality workforce.

Australia, South Korea, and Cambodia are facing the same fate, he said.

If migration is put under control, it will contribute to sustainable development, Dr. Toan said.

Migration is considered to produce benefits to various fields such as healthcare and education, and beef up remittances to migrants’ homelands.

Like other nations, Vietnam needs as much talent as it can get in numerous sectors.

As such, the country should improve the national work environment and create favorable conditions for both domestic and international employees, Dr. Toan underlined.

Remittances play an important role in the Vietnamese economy.

Ho Chi Minh City alone received over US$6.6 billion in remittances between January and September, up 40 percent year on year.

Nguyen Duc Lenh, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City branch of the State Bank of Vietnam, said that remittances act as an impetus for socioeconomic growth in Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular.

Remittances to Vietnam are expected to reach $14 billion in 2023, and $14.4 billion in 2024.

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