~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~ The Vietnam News

[Year 1997]

[Year 1998]

[Year 1999]

[Year 2000]

[Year 2001]

Vietnam, Australia boost educational cooperation HANOI - Both Vietnamese Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Minh Hien and South Australian Minister for Education and Children's Services Malcolm Buckby agreed that Viet Nam and Australia have great potential for bilateral education cooperation. The two ministers expressed their hope for further cooperation in this field during their recent talks on the Viet Nam-Australia educational cooperation plan in the future. Minister Buckby said that the two ministries should strengthen their cooperation in general education by organizing cultural exchanges for pupils. In the future, Australian education experts will visit Viet Nam to give suggestions on establishing educational programmes for Vietnamese students in conformity with the socio-economic development requirements of the country, Buckby added. He said he hoped that Australian-supported training courses will be increased and broadened. Australia will help Viet Nam boost vocational training, the information technology industry and correspondence education for remote and isolated areas, Buckby said. Minister Hien expressed thanks to the Australian Government for its assistance to Viet Nam's education system. He expressed the hope that Australia will help Viet Nam in reforming the education and training system, first and foremost tertiary education. He also hoped for further exchanges of visits by the two countries' educational managers. The Australian Government has in recent years granted from 150 to 200 scholarships to Vietnamese students annually. In addition, thousands of Vietnamese students are studying in Australia at their own expense. The Australian Government is helping Viet Nam organize training courses on information technology and international business at the Industrial College No.4 in Ho Chi Minh City. It is opening a course on vocational training techniques in the central city of Da Nang. An Australian-invested project to establish the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Ho Chi Minh City has recently been approved by the Ministry of Planning and Investment. It is expected to become operational in 2003. Vietnam News Agency - May 23, 2000.

Australia's RMIT to build university in Vietnam HANOI - Vietnam has approved an application from Australia's Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) to build the first wholly foreign-owned university in the country, an official said on Monday. Official media said the university would be built in Ho Chi Minh City, the country's business hub, and open in 2003. It would cost $US50-$60 million, newspapers have said. The official, from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, said the licence would be handed over later on Monday to RMIT representatives at a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City involving visiting Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. Further details were not available. RMIT is the first beneficiary of a recent Vietnamese policy to open the education sector to joint ventures and 100 percent foreign-owned investment. Previously, foreign investment in education was assessed on a case-by-case basis. Foreign business interest in Vietnam has waned in recent years. Foreign investment approvals and actual disbursements last year were the lowest since the early 1990s. Reuters - May 22, 2000.