The College of Asian Scholars in the Thai northeastern province of Khon Kaen and the Vietnamese Consulate General in Khon Kaen launches a new Vietnamese studies centre in the college's campus on Saturday. — VNA/VNS Photo

BANGKOK — The College of Asian Scholars (CAS) in the Thai northeastern province of Khon Kaen and the Vietnamese Consulate General in Khon Kaen launched a new Vietnamese studies centre in the college's campus on Saturday.

This marked the second centre of its kind in Thailand, following the inaugural one established at Udon Thani Rajabhat University. It reflects growing interest in Vietnam and its language among Thai citizens, and the ongoing efforts of Vietnamese representative agencies in Thailand to promote Vietnamese language learning in Thai educational institutions.

Vietnamese Consul General in Khon Kaen Chu Đức Dũng believed that the new centre will contribute to effectively meeting the demand for Vietnamese language skills across various sectors, including government agencies and organisations in teaching, business, interpretation, tour guiding, and other fields in Việt Nam and Thailand.

He offered his vision for the centre's future, encouraging cooperation agreements with several Vietnamese universities to facilitate student exchanges and temporary work opportunities. He also proposed incorporating Vietnamese language directly into the university curriculum, potentially enabling it to become an official subject.

Additionally, Dũng suggested offering scholarships to Vietnamese students and establishing connections between Thai scientific, technological institutions, organisations and businesses with their Vietnamese counterparts.

Looking ahead, the official expressed his hope that the newly launched centre will maintain regular exchanges with the established centre at the Udon Thani Rajabhat University to align their goals for the development of Vietnamese language education, toward the awarding of degrees in Vietnamese language to graduates of Khon Kaen University. — VNS