Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh made the statement on April 2 while receiving a delegation from Australia’s Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), led by President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Alec Cameron, who is on a working visit to Viet Nam.
The PM praised RMIT’s contributions, particularly those of RMIT Viet Nam over the past 25 years, to training skilled human resources and promoting educational cooperation between Viet Nam and Australia. He noted that reputable international institutions like RMIT have helped improve training quality, expand academic exchanges and strengthen mutual understanding between the two countries.
To further strengthen cooperation, PM Chinh suggested that RMIT continue to effectively implement its training programmes in Viet Nam, contributing to improving the quality of human resources and enhancing Vietnamese students’ capacity for international integration, while supporting the development of the country’s higher education system.
He suggested that if RMIT considers Viet Nam a strategic base, it should step up investment in infrastructure, strengthen its teaching staff and ensure adequate learning resources to operate as a comprehensive university. He also encouraged the expansion of training scale and diversification of disciplines, particularly in areas of strong demand such as digital technology, artificial intelligence, green economy, innovation and technology governance.
He further called on the university to enhance collaboration with Vietnamese enterprises, research organisations and educational institutions, contributing to the development of the innovation and startup ecosystem as well as knowledge transfer. He encouraged the university to expand scholarship programmes and research partnerships, creating more opportunities for Vietnamese students to access international education and develop comprehensively.
For his part, Professor Cameron affirmed that RMIT’s presence in Viet Nam is not solely profit-driven but also aims to contribute to the country’s human resources development.
He said the university plans to expand its operations by establishing additional campuses in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and expressed appreciation for the Vietnamese Government’s support. He expressed his hope that relevant ministries, sectors and localities will continue to expedite procedures to support RMIT’s expansion in Viet Nam.
Affirming that the Government consistently creates favourable conditions for reputable international educational institutions, including RMIT, to operate in Viet Nam in accordance with Vietnamese law and contribute to the national education system, the Government leader said relevant agencies are actively addressing procedures and obstacles to facilitate the establishment of RMIT Viet Nam’s campus in Ha Noi.
He called on Professor Cameron, with his experience and prestige in international education, to continue proposing initiatives to further enhance cooperation in education, training and research between RMIT and Viet Nam, thereby contributing to strengthening the Viet Nam–Australia partnership.