Strategic deal between UK and Vietnam to power education links

Vietnam is opening the door to UK institutions to establish branches and expand operations in the country, as the country positions itself as an emerging international education hub, as outlined in a UK government release on October 29.

On his visit to the UK, To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the elevation of UK-Vietnam relations, which will see expanded cooperation across six key areas, including education and people-to-people exchanges.

In a speech delivered at Oxford University, Lam said: “I believe that if we join hands to build a comprehensive and substantive strategic cooperation framework based on mutual respect, mutual benefit and long-term vision, the Vietnam-UK relationship will not only advance to a new level on the new-age diplomatic map.

“It will become a driving force, a model, a common success story – not only for our two countries, but also for peace, stability and sustainable development in the 21st century.”

[The Vietnam-UK partnership] will become a driving force, a model, a common success story – not only for our two countries, but also for peace, stability and sustainable development in the 21st century
^{_{To Lam, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam}}

The respective education ministries of both countries have agreed to continue working together, with a renewed Memorandum of Understanding on the horizon.

The two countries have also agreed to promote “academic exchanges and encourage the establishment of new joint programs, fostering cooperation between higher education institutions, vocational colleges and secondary schools through exchanges of lecturers, researchers, and students, especially in fields such as artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and aerospace”.

The British Council will continue playing a key role in the UK-Vietnam relationship, fostering cultural and educational exchanges under Vietnamese law.

The UK also confirmed its support for Vietnam in promoting English teaching and training, aiming to make English a second language in Vietnamese schools by 2035 and “elevating talent development through cooperation between educational organisations, training providers, and Vietnamese schools”.

Earlier this year, Vietnam announced a series of internationalisation strategies, including this target to embed English within the national education system.

With an ambition to raise the quality of higher education and research, Vietnam aims to increase the proportion of international students from 0.5% to 1.5%, improve the global ranking of its universities, and boost the number of institutions appearing in the top 200 of Asian rankings.

The country also seeks to ensure that over 20% of joint training programs are offered in collaboration with overseas partners ranked among the top 500 universities worldwide.

Looking ahead to 2030 and with a vision for 2045, the Vietnamese government plans to implement strategies to develop education, science, research, and innovation.

Additional goals include having more than 80% of higher education institutions engaged in joint research or collaboration projects with international partners, accrediting over 20% of training programs through overseas bodies, and attracting at least two new branch campuses of top 500 global universities to Vietnam.

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