President of Ireland visits VNU and gives a presentation on Sustainable Development

>>>(Photo) Irish President visits VNU and gives a presentation on Sustainable Development

The visit of the President of Ireland to VNU is of special significance, not only contributing to consolidating and strengthening the good relationship between Vietnam and Ireland but also promoting comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, especially in the fields of education, training and scientific research, actively contributing to the educational innovation and socio-economic development of Vietnam.

Irish President Michael Daniel Higgins writes in the guest book at the VNU's Tradition Room

Attending the reception of Irish President Michael Daniel Higgins at VNU were Director Nguyen Kim Son and Deputy Directors; leaders of the Office, functional departments, member and affiliated units, and a large number of VNU staff and students.

Also attending the program, on the Vietnamese side were Mr. Dao Viet Trung - Member of the Party Central Committee, Head of the Office of the President; Mr. Pham Dai Duong - Deputy Minister of Science and Technology; Mr. Nguyen Van Thao - Ambassador of Vietnam to the UK and Ireland. On the international side, there were Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Charles Flanagan, Irish Ambassador to Vietnam Cait Moran, and Irish diplomatic agencies.

Expressing his joy and honor to welcome the President of Ireland to visit VNU, Director Nguyen Kim Son said that in recent years, cooperation in education and vocational training between Ireland and Vietnam has been increasingly expanded with the attention and support of the Irish Embassy in Vietnam, as well as Enterprise Ireland and Irish AID, etc. Cooperation with leading Irish universities not only contributes to opening up opportunities for students and young staff to exchange, study and improve their qualifications, but also develops strongly through research cooperation programs, sharing experiences in developing higher education, and supporting the development of new training programs in Vietnam.

As a leading university in Vietnam, VNU has also implemented many cooperation activities with the Embassy of Ireland in the youth staff training program, the Vietnam - Ireland bilateral educational cooperation program (VIBE), building the Vietnam Annual Economic Report, the Annual Education Report, etc.

VNU President Nguyen Kim Son delivers a welcoming speech to President Michael Daniel Higgins

In the context of the world facing many instabilities and traditional and non-traditional security challenges, sustainable development has become a matter of global concern. As one of the five countries in the world most affected by climate change according to the World Bank, Vietnam is making every effort to find solutions to respond to and adapt to climate change towards sustainable development. In addition to actively participating in many international agreements and conventions and implementing many national programs and initiatives, Vietnam is also strengthening cooperation and learning from experiences from developed countries around the world.

With that in mind, the President of VNU hopes that the President’s sharing will provide important suggestions to help Vietnam perfect its strategy and model for sustainable and effective development in the future. At the same time, with VNU pioneering in developing research and new training programs such asResponding to Climate Change, Sustainable Science, Non-traditional Security,etc., the President's opinions will contribute to encouraging VNU to participate more actively in the country's sustainable development process. And above all, VNU students in particular and the young generation of Vietnam in general have the opportunity to receive the enthusiasm and extensive knowledge from President Michael Daniel Higgins to nurture their dreams and aspirations to build a sustainable future for themselves, for the country and for humanity.

President Michael Daniel Higgins expressed his honour to be the first Irish President to pay a State visit to Vietnam, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. At the same time, he also expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome of the leaders, staff, teachers and students of VNU.

He said that at the talks with President Tran Dai Quang on November 7, the leaders of Ireland and Vietnam agreed to consider education and training as a key area of ​​cooperation in the coming time and encouraged training institutions of the two countries to establish partnerships. Witnessing the signing ceremony of cooperation between the two leading universities of Vietnam and Ireland, VNU and Cork University, clearly demonstrated this determination.

Irish President Michael Daniel Higgins delivers a presentation on the topic of "Sustainable Development"

President Michael Daniel Higgins highly appreciated and believed that the cooperation between VNU and Cork University will help both sides share knowledge, coordinate training projects, conduct many new research programs, contributing to the sustainable development of the two countries.

In his presentation on the topic of Sustainable Development, the President emphasized the factors affecting sustainable development, which are peace, gender equality, environment, climate change, economic development, culture, society, and especially education. He suggested the need to strongly develop international connections in various fields; propose specific international actions to respond to climate change; each country needs to enhance its sense of responsibility to the world community, at the same time build a specific action program on sustainable development and call for the joint efforts and contributions of all people and society...

In response to a student question about the President's personal success, Sir Michael Daniel Higgins shared. “You are very fortunate to study at VNU - a university with a long tradition, a leading training institution in Vietnam, where you can freely develop your abilities and creativity. I hope that VNU students in particular and Vietnamese youth in general will strive to self-study and practice; practice critical thinking; constantly enrich their knowledge through observation, study, reading and research. I believe that in the future, you will become a bridge of knowledge not only domestically, regionally but also internationally, in order to build a global network contributing to the prosperous development of humanity.”.

Signing ceremony between VNU and University College Cork (Ireland) at the Presidential Palace

Previously, under the witness of President Michael Daniel Higgins and President Tran Dai Quang, on the morning of November 7, 2016, VNU and University College Cork (UCC) signed a comprehensive cooperation agreement to further strengthen the cooperative relationship built on the results achieved in recent years. This is a vivid demonstration of the effective cooperation between VNU and a leading Irish university, contributing to enhancing the good relationship between Vietnam and Ireland.

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