Bangkok (VNA) – In the halls of Thailand's Khon Kaen University, a plan is taking shape to open a Vietnam Studies Centre, a venture designed to deepen educational ties, cultural exchange and friendship between the two neighbours.
Consul General Dinh Hoang Linh recently held a working session with leaders of Khon Kaen University and its Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences’ representatives to hammer out a roadmap.
Linh welcomed the university’s willingness to fund facilities for the centre at one of Thailand’s top higher education establishments. The centre, he said, will support in-depth academic research and spread multidisciplinary knowledge about Vietnam, giving a boost to people-to-people diplomacy.
The Consulate General, for its part, will supply materials and information to broaden understanding of Vietnam, its people and culture, while paying tribute to President Ho Chi Minh, a national liberation hero and a great man of culture, among the Vietnamese community in Thailand and international friends.
Linh believed that the centre will become a vital venue for the Vietnamese community in Thailand to hold on to their cultural identity and language, while doubling as a bridge to further deepen the two countries’ Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Acharawan Topark-Ngarm, Assistant to the President for International Affairs at Khon Kaen University, hailed the Consulate General’s close cooperation and backed plans to open the centre in late August.
Orathai Lek, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, said the university hopes to push the signing of memoranda of understanding with several Vietnamese universities and cultural and educational establishments.
Linh vowed to work closely with relevant partners to ensure the launch becomes a meaningful event, advancing cultural and educational cooperation and friendship between the two peoples as Vietnam and Thailand mark 50 years of diplomatic ties this year./.
