The event was attended by representatives from embassies of countries that have education and training cooperation with Vietnam, and over 40 rectors and directors of leading higher education institutions in the country.

In his remarks, Minister of Education and Training Phung Xuan Nha affirmed that the Vietnamese Government gives special attention to education, training and human resource development, considering it as one of the three breakthroughs for the nation’s development.

In recent years, Vietnam has focused on promoting international cooperation and training links with many countries worldwide, he said, adding that the Government has also paid attention to perfecting policies for the work.

He said the issuance of the 2019 Law on Education and the Law on Amendments and Supplements to some articles of the Law on Higher Education has promoted the autonomy model in local universities, enhanced the education quality verification and opened opportunities to attract more renowned foreign universities to Vietnam.

Many Vietnamese higher education institutions have developed high quality training programmes with international standards, providing training courses in English and other foreign languages, Nha said.

The number of international training programmes associated with prestigious universities abroad are constantly increasing, he noted, adding that there are currently about 400 joint training programmes between Vietnamese education institutions and their partners in more than 30 countries across the world.

Representatives from domestic education establishments shared their experiences and ability in deploying international training programmes, saying that they are willing to receive overseas Vietnamese students and foreign students in Vietnam amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

They also proposed measures to promote the provision of international training programmes so that Vietnamese students can "study abroad on the spot".

On the occasion, VinUni of Vietnam and Cornell University of the US signed a cooperative programme called “Study Away”, which will make it easier for Cornell’s international students that are facing the difficulties in returning to the US for study, to join online training programmes provided by VinUni. VNA