The Vietnam-Austriaforum on tertiary education, science and research was attended byAustrian President Heinz Fischer and Vietnamese Deputy Prime MinisterNguyen Thien Nhan.
The forum was considered animportant bridge between the two countries’ higher education and scienceand technology sectors.
Speaking at the event,President Heinz Fischer said he is pleased with development of bilateralties in the science and research sector through cooperative agreementsbetween tertiary education and research agencies, as well as theframework of the Austrian Southeast Asian University Partnership Network(ASEA-UNINET) initiated by Austrian universities.
Deputy PM Nhan affirmed that the forum represented the two countries’determination to make tertiary education, science and research apriority in bilateral cooperation.
Vietnam considerseducation and science and technology a breakthrough for its rapid andsustainable development, he said.
In its tertiaryeducation strategy, Vietnam will improve the quality of highereducation by building high-quality universities, strengtheninginternational cooperation in tertiary education and stepping upscientific research at universities, he added.
According to Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan, Vietnamattaches importance to scientific and technological cooperation withAustria , reflected by the signing of a memorandum of understanding(MoU) on scientific and technological cooperation between the VietnameseMinistry of Science and Technology and the Austrian Ministry of Scienceand Research in late 2011.
The MoU affirms thetwo ministries’ commitment to creating a mechanism to encouragecooperation between the Vietnamese and Austrian scientific andtechnological communities, especially between universities and researchinstitutes.
At the forum, the Vietnamese Ministryof Science and Technology and the Austrian Ministry of Science andResearch officially launched a programme to support bilateral researchcooperation between Vietnam and Austria in the 2012-2025 period.
Under the programme, the two countries’ scientificcommunities will receive financial support to boost joint researchcooperation activities and train scientists in the three priority areasof network security, intelligent transport and renewable energy.
During the event, six memoranda of understanding were also inkedbetween leading universities of Vietnam and Austria .
On the same day, Austrian President Heinz Fischer met with Chairmanof the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Le Hoang Quan, who expressedhis belief that the visit will boost multifaceted cooperation betweenAustria and Vietnam and between Austria and Ho Chi Minh City inparticular.-VNA