Viet Nam and China will develop detailed
programmes to boost educational co-operation in the near future, especially with
Hunan Province.

The agreement was
reached during Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan’s reception of Deputy
Secretary of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee Mei Kebao in Ha Noi yesterday,
April 13.

Nhan affirmed that
the special friendship founded and fostered by President Ho Chi Minh and
President Mao Zedong would be ceaselessly strengthened and developed by the two
governments and peoples, including Hunan locals.

He said that about
15,000 Vietnamese students in Chinese localities would become an important
bridge to promote bilateral co-operative ties.

Mei said that despite
being distant from Viet Nam, Hunan Province always had deep sentiments for the
Vietnamese people, evidenced by the twinning between Hunan and Nghe An provinces
– the respective lands of Presidents Mao Zedong and Ho Chi Minh – affirming the
traditional friendship between the two peoples in general and the two localities
in particular.

He affirmed that
Hunan Province would provide support to Viet Nam to develop human resources,
adding that many Vietnamese students received scholarships from Hunan
authorities to study tourism and trade in local universities and colleges.

The same day, five
investment and trade projects worth US$36.7 million were signed by Hunan
businesses at the Viet Nam-Hunan trade and investment co-operation forum.

Agreements were
signed for projects in waste treatment, assembly of passenger car body work,
machinery for mining minerals and oriental herbal medicine.

Mei said Hunan
businesses chose Viet Nam as their first destination for investment and
co-operation during the Hunan – Southeast Asia Week to be held this year to mark
the 20th anniversary of the ASEAN-China dialogue relations.

Last year, two-way
trade between Viet Nam and Hunan reached $250 million. At present, Viet Nam is
Hunan’s largest partner in the Southeast Asia region.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News