On the morning of September 18 (local time), during his working trip to the US, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited and spoke at the University of San Francisco (USF).

Proposal to increase the number of scholarships for Vietnamese students to study in the US

Sharing with the lecturers and students here, the Prime Minister said that this working trip, the Vietnamese delegation came to the US with a very happy mood and it is even more meaningful when Vietnam - US has just upgraded to the framework of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership .

The Head of Government said that the joint statement of the two countries' leaders emphasized thateducation and training cooperation is one of the focuses of the bilateral relationship, especially in training high-quality human resources, helping Vietnam achieve its development goals.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh expressed his pleasure at meeting with the school’s administrators, lecturers and students; highly appreciated the achievements that USF University has achieved. Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

The Prime Minister highly appreciated the educational achievements of USF. This is the first university in California, with a long history, not only training for the US but also for more than 100 countries around the world.

“We are very impressed by this,” said the Prime Minister.

According to the head of the Vietnamese government, the US is one of the countries with modern education, including the University of San Francisco. Currently, the number of Vietnamese students ranks 3rd among the school's international students, with about 80 students (after China and India).

The Prime Minister said that universities in the US in general and USF in particular have contributed to improving Vietnam's human resources in recent times and hopes that in the future the school will train more and more effective human resources for Vietnam.

The Head of Government hopes that American educational institutions will continue to expand and improve their quality, as well as the number of students coming to the US for training will increase.

The Prime Minister also suggested that the US provide Vietnam with more scholarships in various fields, focusing on industries serving digital transformation , circular economy, sharing economy, etc. These are areas that Vietnam is in great need of.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh talks with students at San Francisco University

He also informed that among Vietnam's three strategic breakthroughs is the breakthrough in training high-quality human resources. Therefore, in Vietnam-US cooperation, the pillar of education training is in line with Vietnam's direction and the trend of the times, as well as US policy.

“In such a general trend, we hope that San Francisco University will take the lead in accepting and increasing the number of scholarships as well as creating conditions for Vietnamese students to come here to study,” the Prime Minister suggested.

The Head of Government used the image "a year begins in spring, life begins in youth" to remind young people who come here to study to maximize their abilities, compete, and interact to always be in the top of the professions that the world and Vietnam need.

“Young people need to maximize the spirit of studiousness, patriotism, national pride, and strive to study and practice, proving that our nation is not inferior to any other nation in any field,” the Prime Minister advised Vietnamese students.

Invite to witness ethnic and religious policies in Vietnam

Regarding the sharing of the Principal - Father Paul J. Fitzgerald, SJ about the contributions of religions in Vietnamese history, including the process of forming the national language, the Prime Minister agreed and shared that religions have made great contributions in the process of forming Vietnamese culture, in the cause of building and defending the country.

In the 1945 Declaration of Independence, President Ho Chi Minh quoted the United States Declaration of Independence, affirming the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness of each person.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Minister of Public Security To Lam and Father Paul J. Fitzgerald, SJ - President of USF took a souvenir photo with students. Photo: Nhat Bac

As a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country with a rich religious life, the Prime Minister affirmed that the Vietnamese State always consistently implements a policy of respecting and ensuring the people's right to freedom of belief and religion, and the right to follow or not follow a religion.

Vietnam ensures equality and non-discrimination on the basis of religion or belief; protects the activities of religious organizations by law.

"If there is anyone who does not understand about Vietnam, about Vietnam's ethnic and religious policies, I would like to ask the teachers and students of USF to explain it to them clearly. We are ready to invite everyone to visit Vietnam to witness the implementation of ethnic and religious policies in Vietnam," the Prime Minister quoted the Vietnamese saying "a hundred hearings are not as good as one seeing" to reaffirm.

Recalling the folk song "Gourd, please love the squash/Although they are different species, they share the same vine", the Prime Minister emphasized Vietnam's policy of great national unity and religious unity.

Here, some students asked the Prime Minister about Vietnam's policy for students living and studying abroad to return to contribute to the country's development and create an environment to support them in starting their own businesses.

In response, the Prime Minister said that this was a question that many overseas Vietnamese asked him during their trips to other countries. Calling on students studying abroad to return to their country to contribute is part of Vietnam's general policy.

“The government always encourages students to return home but respects their choices and encourages them to continue improving their abilities and qualifications. When they feel they can contribute better, we are ready to welcome them back,” said the Prime Minister.

Currently, Vietnam attracts talented young students with many policies, including Decree 140/2017 of the Government on policies to attract and create human resources from excellent graduates and young scientists.

vietnamnet.vn