KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 (Bernama) -- 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 Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
He said this was conveyed during his meeting with the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam, at a hotel here today.
“In terms of higher education and TVET, they (Vietnam) know that we (Malaysia) have reached a certain level and they want to learn it.
“In addition, 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.
Ahmad 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 (Communist Party of Vietnam) 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 Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir, who is also the Minister of Higher Education, and UMNO secretary-general Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, who is also the Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) 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 Communist Party of Vietnam in August.
The last time Malaysia hosted a visit from the General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam was in March 1994, a year before Vietnam’s official entry into ASEAN.
-- BERNAMA
