ASEAN, Australia bolster education cooperation

The ASEAN Committee in Canberra (ACC) has held a working session with the group of eight leading universities of Australia (Go8) on opportunities for education cooperation between ASEAN member countries and Australia in the context of ASEAN and Australia having already or going to re-open their borders.

ASEAN and Australian representatives pose for a photo (Photo: VNA)

At the session, held on March 16, the two sides affirmed their commitment to support the bilateral partnership in research and high-quality education in the framework of the ASEAN-Australia comprehensive strategic partnership set up in October last year. They agreed that research and education are important pillars in the linkage of their people.         

The two sides recognised the importance of scholarships in ensuring equal and suitable access to education, and acknowledged the strong collaboration between the ACC and Go8 in facilitating ASEAN students’ safe return to Australia after a period of disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.           

The Go8 pledged to work together with the ACC to promote research and education cooperation in the post-pandemic period.

The 10-member ASEAN is currently the third largest market of Australia in terms of education.

The ACC and Go8 pledged to join hands to seek opportunities to further expand the bilateral partnership in the field, with the first step being the organisation of a strategic dialogue this year with the participation of ACC, Go8, ministries, agencies and localities of ASEAN and Australia. The dialogue will focus on education cooperation and the role of research in enhancing skills and promoting economic growth and trade.  

Vietnamese Ambassador Nguyen Tat Thanh reported that education-training is also a top priority in the newly-approved Vietnam-Australia   Enhanced Economic Engagement Strategy. He said Go8 have so far had 56 joint projects with Vietnamese partners, and  proposed that Go8 pay more attention to the fields of digital transformation, green growth and technical-vocational training with deeper engagement of the business community.        

The diplomat also suggested that Go8 and other Australian universities consider tripartite and quadripartite cooperation frameworks, especially with Mekong sub-region countries./. 

VNA