Paris (VNA) - Politburo Member, Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, and Chairman of its Commission for Organisation Nguyen Duy Ngoc on September 11 led a Vietnamese delegation to pay a working visit to the Institut Polytechnique de Paris (IP Paris), one of France’s leading centres for elite education, scientific research and innovation.
The trip took place within the framework of General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee and President To Lam's official visit to France.
The delegation included Vu Hai Quan, Member of the Party Central Committee and Minister of Science and Technology; Hoang Minh Son, Member of the Party Central Committee and Minister of Education and Training; and representatives from Vietnamese government agencies, universities and research institutes.
The Vietnamese guests were received by IP Paris President Thierry Coulhon, Vice President for Research and Innovation Jamal Atif, senior officials from member schools and graduate institutions, as well as researchers, scientists and a large number of Vietnamese students, doctoral candidates and lecturers studying and working at the school.
IP Paris leaders outlined its model for elite education, research and innovation and highlighted several scientific and technological achievements. They also shared France’s experience in developing highly skilled technical professionals for government, industry and strategic science and technology sectors.
Ngoc said he was impressed by IP Paris’s achievements and international standing in education, research and innovation. He also praised its inter-school and interdisciplinary models, postgraduate training programmes and close links between research and education, and the needs of economic, industrial and technological development.
“Education and training, science and technology, and high-quality human resources are key areas of cooperation in Vietnam-France relations,” he noted.
Vietnam and France have made progress over the past time in areas including cadre training, student exchanges, scholarships, joint university programmes and the promotion of the French language, he added.
According to Ngoc, Vietnam is entering a new phase of development, with a target of becoming a developed, high-income country by 2045. To realise this goal, it is strongly promoting the renovation of its growth model toward higher productivity, knowledge, science and technology, innovation and skilled human capital, while improving national governance and making more effective use of its resources.
Vietnam wants to work with France on long-term, targeted programmes covering leadership and personnel training, human-resource development and strategic technologies, he added.
The Vietnamese delegation proposed that the two sides consider establishing joint laboratories and expand opportunities for Vietnamese students, doctoral candidates and interns to take part in research, testing and innovation programmes in France.
They also called for closer links among universities, research institutes and businesses in the two countries to turn high-level Vietnam-France cooperation orientations into specific projects and programmes.
Ngoc said IP Paris’s inter-school, interdisciplinary and postgraduate training models could provide useful lessons for Vietnamese universities seeking to develop research-oriented institutions and train highly skilled workers.
He called on IP Paris to continue supporting its Vietnamese partners and work with them to develop new cooperation models that match France’s strengths with Vietnam’s development priorities.
During the visit, Ngoc and officials from both sides witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between IP Paris and the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology on doctoral training.
A cooperation agreement was also signed between the Hanoi University of Mining and Geology and the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Étienne./.
