Working session between Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Van Phuc and Minister of Education and Training of Vanuatu Hon. Simil Johnson Youse. (Photo: People's Representative Newspaper)

Speaking at the meeting, Hon. Simil Johnson Youse said that Vietnam and Vanuatu established diplomatic relations in 1982, right after Vanuatu gained independence. This laid a solid foundation for bilateral relations. The Vietnamese community in Vanuatu currently has about 200 people who always preserve and promote traditional cultural values. These Vietnamese people not only contribute to the development of Vanuatu but also serve as a solid bridge to help strengthen the cooperative relationship between the two countries.

According to Mr. Hon. Simil Johnson Youse, during this working trip to Vietnam, the Vanuatu Ministry of Education and Training wishes to learn about Vietnam's strong training fields such as agriculture - forestry - fishery, trade - investment, information technology, tourism, human resource development, climate change response and healthcare.

At the same time, Vanuatu also wishes to send students to study in Vietnam. Some educational cooperation programs that Vanuatu desires include: Program to support development and share Vietnam's experience in human resource development in various fields; scholarship programs for high school and university levels; cooperation between educational institutions of the two countries, etc.

Vanuatu Minister of Education and Training Hon. Simil Johnson Youse (second from left). (Photo: People's Representative Newspaper)

Welcoming the Minister of Education and Training of Vanuatu Hon. Simil Johnson Youse to Vietnam for the first time, Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Phuc thanked the Government and people of Vanuatu for their support in helping the Vietnamese community to become stronger and stronger, becoming a solid bridge for the relationship between the two countries. The results of the PISA survey published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed that Vietnamese students scored in the highest group in Mathematics based on the socio-economic conditions index.

Mr. Nguyen Van Phuc said that in the past 10 years, Vietnam has made strong progress and achieved many important achievements in education and training, contributing greatly to improving people's knowledge, developing human resources, and nurturing talents. Currently, Vietnam has 241 higher education institutions, with about 2.2 million students. Innovation in higher education associated with increased autonomy has created new momentum, contributing to improving the quality of human resource training. Scientific research, especially international scientific publications, has increased sharply; a number of Vietnamese higher education institutions are ranked among the best universities in Asia and the world.

Deputy Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Van Phuc. (Photo: People's Representative Newspaper)

At the meeting, Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Phuc and Minister Hon. Simil Johnson Youse agreed that both sides should prepare conditions for the signing of an educational cooperation agreement. Next, the delegation from the Vanuatu Ministry of Education and Training will visit and work at a number of universities in Vietnam such as the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology, Hanoi Medical University, Nha Trang University, Van Lang University, Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry, etc.

The Vietnam Friendship Association in Vanuatu organizes a Tet celebration program for the Vietnamese community. On the evening of January 29, 2022, the 27th day of the 12th lunar month, the Vietnam Friendship Association in Vanuatu (Association) celebrated the Lunar New Year of the Tiger with the participation of a large number of Vietnamese people in Vanuatu, a total of about 200 people.

Vanuata wants to expand climate and health cooperation with Vietnam Vanuatu considers Vietnam a Pacific neighbor. In addition to traditional cooperation in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, trade, investment, tourism, and human resource development, the country wishes to cooperate with Vietnam in new areas, especially climate change response and healthcare.