HÀ NỘI – International assistance, particularly from countries with quality education sectors like Finland, was critical to Việt Nam’s development, Minister of Education and Training Phạm Vũ Luận said at an education forum yesterday.

The forum, which was attended by Vietnamese and Finnish education officials, experts and university representatives, was held during a five-day visit to Việt Nam by Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Lenita Toivakka.

Luận said as Việt Nam was now  a middle-income country, it needed high quality human resources for sustainable development.

He said the ministry would help companies and training institutions from the two countries co-operate further.

Nguyễn Xuân Vang, director of the ministry’s International Education Development Department, said challenges for Việt Nam’s education system included limited resources, urgent need for qualified trainers and uneven development among regions and population groups.

Toivakka said relations between Việt Nam and Finland had been based mainly on development assistance but this changed as Việt Nam developed very rapidly over recent decades.

“It’s time to move on and look for new avenues of co-operation in our bilateral relations,” she said.

There are over 500 Vietnamese students studying in Finland, the third largest nationality of overseas students in Finland.

Finland helps develop smart power grid in Viet Nam

The Central Power Corporation and Finland’s ABB Oy Company launched mini Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system projects in the central and Central Highlands regions with the aim of developing a smart power grid.
The introduction of the mini SCADA system in Tam Kỳ city in central Quảng Nam province and Pleiku city in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai is vital to improving the effectiveness of power supply.
Investment for the two projects totaled about US$4.5 million.
Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Hoàng Quốc Vượng said that since 2006, with preferential credit worth 10.5 million EUR ($11.5 million) from Finland, the Central Power Corporation built the mini SCADA system in four cities in the central and Central Highlands regions.
Finland has so far provided assistance for approximately 20 projects with a total investment of 57 million EUR in health, environment, clean water and energy in Việt Nam. -- VNS