The 5th Sino – Vietnam Presidents Forum of Universities in Red River Basin: A turning point in educational cooperation between Vietnam and China in the Red River Basin

The Sino–Vietnam Presidents Forum of Universities in Red River Basin is an educational cooperation organization co-founded by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and Honghe Academy, China in 2014. Over 4 sessions, the Forum has operated very effectively, contributing to promoting cooperation between universities in the Forum, mobilizing teams of experts to participate in solving scientific issues of mutual interest, supporting human resource training, sharing scientific knowledge, promoting the publication of research results, etc. 
From the initially limited number of members, the Forum has expanded, admitting many new members, and nurturing the Forum to grow stronger. From 2019 to 2022, despite the complications of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting direct cooperation activities, the Forum still stood firm, continued caring and supporting each other from afar and determined to come back strong by holding the 5th Forum at Yunnan University, China.
At the Forum, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Lai Quoc Khanh emphasized: "The Red River is not only a natural river flowing through many provinces and cities of China and Vietnam, but also a historical and cultural bond connecting the two countries as well as their people, a proof for comradeship and steadfast loyalty. The Red River basin today is a vibrant economic area of the economic corridor "Kunming - Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong - Quang Ninh" is part of the initiative "Two Corridors, One Belt" launched by the two countries in 2004. Therefore, the birth of this Forum holds special meaning!
That is an opportunity for the universities of Vietnam and China in the Red River basin to exchange and cooperate in the fields of top scientific research and high-quality education and training. Together, we can create intellectual resources and train talents to serve the development of the two countries. At the same time, we can also join hands and contribute to fostering the Red River's history - culture - and economy to forever “flow” into the future, bringing prosperity to us all." The 5th Forum attracted many representatives of member universities from both countries, including 24 universities and 53 delegates. Representatives of the universities gave presentations and speeches to share experiences in training and research cooperation in recent years and some potential ideas for the coming years. All opinions agree on the principles of cooperation: top-quality; training high-quality talents; regular exchange of students and staff; associated with serving socio-economic development in the Red River basin. The Forum also held the signing ceremony of a MOU between the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and Yunnan University; Thuongmai University and Honghe Academy. Based on discussion and consensus, the Forum agreed to nominate the next rotating host to be the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and the next Forum will be held in 2025. Prof. Hu Junming - Vice President of Yunnan University, presented the Forum's rotating flag to the Assoc.Prof.Dr. Lai Quoc Khanh, representative chairing the 6th rotation. On this occasion, Assoc.Prof.Dr. Lai Quoc Khanh announced the Work Plan for 2024 -2025. In detail, the main activities of the 2024 - 2025 are as follows:
2024: Organize a Conference of Heads of Training, International Cooperation and Scientific Management Departments of universities in the Red River basin. It is expected that Thai Nguyen University, Vietnam will host this Conference.
The tasks of this Conference include: preparing for the 6th Forum in 2025 in Vietnam and proposing the university to alternately chair the 7th Conference in 2027 in China; building a student summer camp mechanism and planning to build the Red River Scholarship Fund; developing a credit recognition mechanism; developing a project to improve the level of academic language of both countries; building a Research – Workshop – Publishing mechanism; building a mechanism for scientific research awards...
2025: Organize the 6th Sino–Vietnam Presidents Forum of Universities in Red River Basin in 2025 at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi.
The tasks of this 6th Forum include: Admission of new members; summarizing and exhibiting achievements for the 2024-2025 term; awarding scientific research awards; planning the theme for the upcoming international scientific conference "Vietnam - China cooperation in the first quarter of the 21st century: Current status and prospects"...