The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) of Thailand will increase cooperation with Vietnam in the research of sustainable development in the context of climate change, said an AIT representative.

The announcement was delivered at a meeting to mark the 50th founding anniversary of the institute in Hanoi on October 29.

The AIT will continue to place priority on research activities concerning sustainable development. It will set up a centre dubbed “Yunus” that will be in charge of dealing with food safety issues, facilitating agricultural business and promoting the application of information technology in agricultural production.

The centre will also carry out research on factors contributing to poverty reduction in rural areas.

Based in Bangkok, the AIT has been designated by the United Nations as the permanent site of the world’s first Regional Centre of Excellence on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in March 2008 for its outstanding contribution to the promotion of sustainable development, mitigation of the impact of natural calamities and problem-solving for countries newly freed from conflicts.

Since 1960, the institute has provided masters’ scholarships to over 2,400 Vietnamese students. In 1993, Vietnam became the first country chosen by the AIT to set up an overseas branch and it has, since then, trained more than 15,000 local students./.