The Can Tho University should become a leading university in the Mekong Delta region in terms of both research and interdisciplinary training, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has said.

At a working session on March 20 with teachers and students of the university, the PM also urged the university to become a strong technology transfer centre and a supplier of high-quality human resources for the region.

Mekong Delta, which is the granary of the country, is facing difficulties relating to high-quality human resources, transport infrastructure, low competitiveness of products, among others, Dung said.

Therefore, the university has the political task to help the region overcome those difficulties, he added.

At the meeting, the PM and leaders from ministries and branches also considered and gave opinions on a number of proposals by the university. Among others, the university proposed the government back its bid for an upgrading project funded by Japan ’s Official Development Assistance capital.

Can Tho University was founded in 1996. In the 2012-2013 academic year, the university has enrolled almost 5,000 students studying 85 disciplines at under-graduate level. The university is also training 3,000 post-graduate researchers in 33 masters and 9 doctoral programmes.-VNA