KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 — Vietnam has expressed interest in learning about the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme from Malaysia for its students, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said this was conveyed during his meeting with the Vietnam Communist Party Central Committee general secretary To Lam at a hotel here today.
“In terms of higher education and TVET, (Vietnam) knows that (Malaysia) has reached a certain level and it wants to learn.
“We also discussed student exchanges (at higher education institutions) because they (Vietnam) have sent 346 students to our country. But so far, we (Malaysia) have not sent any students to the country to study,” he told reporters after the meeting.
Zahid added that although today’s meeting was joined by party leaders, it, however, did not involve the sharing of ideologies, instead it was held on the basis of mutual respect for each other's parties.
“Their party (Vietnam Communist Party) has successfully turned the republic into a progressive nation by attracting significant investments and they aspire for Vietnam to become a developed country by 2045,” he said.
Earlier, the nearly hour-long meeting was also attended by several Umno leaders, including its Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir, who is also the Higher Education Minister, and Umno secretary-general Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, who is also the Majlis Amanah Rakyat chairman.
Lam, who was accompanied by his wife Ngo Phuong Ly, and his delegation arrived in Malaysia yesterday for a three-day working visit.
This marks Lam’s first visit to Malaysia since his election as general secretary of the Vietnam Communist Party in August.
The last time Malaysia hosted a visit from a general secretary from the party was in March 1994, a year before Vietnam’s official entry into Asean.
— Bernama
