As many as 155 Vietnamese graduates, including three from ethnic minority groups and five with disability, will pursue a higher education programme in Australia from January, 2014.

Under the Australian Government’s Development Scholarships Programme, they will be trained in the fields of gender equality, human rights, economics, education, disabled people, infrastructure, environment, health and rural development.

Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Hugh Borrowman congratulated the students at a farewell function in Hanoi on November 26.

Vietnam and Australia have recently signed an agreement on education cooperation, hoping to greatly benefit both sides’ socio-economic development.

The Development Scholarships programme grants about 400 scholarships a year to Vietnamese students, which account for one third of Australia’s annual non-refundable aid to Vietnam.-VNA