Education and training cooperation, worthy of the Vietnam - Australia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

Also attending were Minister, Head of the Government Office Tran Van Son; Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son; Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat; Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan; Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan and on the Australian side were Australian Education Minister Anthony Chisholm, along with leaders of universities from Vietnam and Australia.

The cooperation in education and training between Vietnam and Australia is a traditional cooperation field and one of the bright spots in the relationship between Vietnam and Australia. Australia is the leading destination for Vietnamese students. To date, there are over 80,000 students studying in Australia; more than 200 Vietnamese and Australian educational institutions have cooperation programs. Universities on both sides have conducted more than 5,000 joint research projects.

At the forum, university leaders discussed, exchanged, shared and proposed knowledge creation; adaptability; policies, solutions and orientations for higher education development. In particular, delegates mentioned many contents related to university administration and management, teacher development, improving the quality of higher education, and new educational methods. In particular, university leaders proposed educational cooperation programs and projects between Vietnam and Australia.

Speaking at the forum, on the occasion of the 114th anniversary of International Women's Day (March 8), Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his gratitude and called for continued action for women's equality; said he really liked the work "The Thorn Birds" by Australian author Colleen McCullough - a work expressing the desire for freedom of women's hearts, affirming that sincere love cannot be stopped, as well as the Vietnam - Australia relationship that comes from heart to heart and cannot be stopped.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said that after more than half a century of developing a close and substantive friendship and cooperation, with many positive results; Vietnam and Australia have now officially upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. In particular, Vietnam-Australia educational cooperation has always been a bright spot with many important achievements, contributing to creating and improving the quality of human resources for development. Australia is one of the top popular choices for Vietnamese students. Many students who have studied in Australia have returned home and have been very successful, making many positive contributions to the development and promotion of bilateral relations.

Affirming that Vietnam always attaches special importance to education - training and human resource development, especially high-quality human resources, the Prime Minister said that Vietnam implements the innovation policy based on three fundamental factors: socialist democracy, socialist rule-of-law state, socialist-oriented market economy, in which the consistent principle is to take people as the center, subject, driving force, the most important resource and the goal of development; Vietnam considers education - training and science and technology as the top national policy and human resource development as one of the three strategic breakthroughs. Stating that Vietnam focuses on and prioritizes attracting foreign investment in the field of education - training, the Prime Minister said that this is an important field of cooperation and there is still much room to continue to promote in the coming time, however, attracting foreign investment in education - training in Vietnam is still modest, especially at the university level.

Regarding the viewpoint and key cooperation orientation in the coming time, the Prime Minister suggested that the two sides need to continue to innovate their thinking and vision, promote practical, effective and comprehensive cooperation in education and training, to continue to promote the role of an important pillar, create breakthroughs and contribute to strongly promoting the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, for the benefit of the people of the two countries. The Vietnamese Government is always committed to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of foreign educational institutions and foreign investors, ensuring "mutual benefit and win-win".

The Prime Minister suggested that the two sides continue to review and improve institutions, mechanisms and policies to strongly promote cooperation and foreign investment in the field of education and training, with the goal of creating maximum convenience for educational and training institutions, especially prestigious universities, to continue to expand cooperation and long-term investment in Vietnam.

Welcoming the establishment of a Joint Working Group by the two countries’ Ministries of Education and Training to support Australian universities in establishing branches in Vietnam, the Prime Minister believed that the Group would facilitate and effectively promote efforts to increase the number of universities establishing branches in Vietnam. “Educational institutions must well implement the motto: schools are the foundation, students are the center, teachers must be the driving force,” the Prime Minister requested.

The Head of Government proposed increasing the quantity and improving the quality of cooperation and training programs between educational institutions and universities of the two countries, with more emphasis on research, development, and application of science and technology in fields that Vietnam lacks, and Australia has strengths in such as artificial intelligence, big data, green and clean energy, biotechnology, etc. and master's and doctoral training levels.

At the same time, mobilize and effectively use resources to focus on investing in key projects, in line with Australia's strengths and interests and Vietnam's training needs; increase student and lecturer exchanges and promote scientific research cooperation between universities of the two countries, especially creating conditions for professors to come to Vietnam to support teaching new professions that Vietnam needs; create all favorable conditions regarding visa policies, ensure living conditions, security and safety, especially providing scholarships for Vietnamese people to study in Australia; promote learning Vietnamese in Australia.

The Prime Minister suggested that educational and training institutions and universities of the two countries, especially representatives of prestigious Australian universities attending the forum, actively discuss, seek cooperation opportunities, sign memorandums of understanding and soon jointly and effectively implement specific cooperation and investment projects in Vietnam.

The Prime Minister hopes and believes that the Vietnam - Australia Higher Education Cooperation Forum will open a new phase for educational cooperation between the two sides to continue to develop in a prosperous, sustainable and long-term manner, continuing to be a bright spot in the recently established Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between Vietnam and Australia.

In particular, the Prime Minister believes that in the near future, there will be more Australian educational and training institutions and universities opening branches and diverse and effective forms of cooperation and research in Vietnam. In particular, special attention will be paid to building projects of regional stature, symbolic in educational and training cooperation, worthy of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries.

* At the forum, witnessed by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and leaders of ministries and sectors of the two countries, Vietnamese and Australian universities signed eight cooperation agreements in the fields of academic exchange, teaching programs, research; exchange of students and lecturers; training in emerging and important fields such as artificial intelligence, big data, semiconductors, health sciences, environment, digital technology, green energy, etc.