Assistant Minister for Vocational Education and Skills, Karen Andrews, signed the Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with Minister Dao Ngoc Dung and Vice Minister Nguyen Van Phuc from Vietnam on March 15 in Canberra, Australia.
In an indication of the importance of the new agreements, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc witnessed the signing.
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Australian and Vietnamese Prime Ministers witnessing the signing |
The agreements include an MOU on vocational education and training and broader education MOU. Both will lead to an increase in cooperation between Australia and Vietnam in these important fields.
Assistant Minister Andrews said Vietnam is becoming an increasingly important partner with Australia in international education.
“Vietnam is the sixth largest source of international students in Australia, with 23,670 students enrolled here last year and was the second most popular destination for Vietnamese tertiary students in 2015 following the United States,” Assistant Minister Andrews said.
“There is potential for further opportunities through these agreements as Vietnam looks to Australia’s expertise, particularly in vocational education, to establish frameworks that provide high quality skills training.
“The Vietnamese Government’s commitment to upskill the country’s workforce to sustain recent economic growth opens up new opportunities for cooperation between our countries.
“Like Australia, Vietnam is focused on opportunities in high-value technical sectors and is looking to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) to support its transition,” Assistant Minister Andrews said.
The new MOUs provide a platform for international education co-operation between Australia and Vietnam.
“Vietnam’s priorities are well aligned with the strengths of Australia’s world class education and training system, and we look forward to working together with Vietnam to benefit both our nations,” Assistant Minister Andrews said.
Reported by Binh Chau-Hoang Bac