Vietnamese, New Zealand PMs visit Temple of Literature

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon expressed admiration for Vietnam’s rich cultural heritage and educational legacy, highlighting the Temple of Literature as a remarkable symbol of learning and academic excellence.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon visit Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature Complex) in Hanoi on February 27. (Photo: VNA)

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon visited Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature Complex) in Hanoi on February 27, as part of the latter's ongoing official visit to Vietnam.

The two leaders toured significant historical sites within the complex, including Dai Trung Mon (Great Middle Gate), Khue Van Cac (the pavilion of the constellation of literature), doctoral steles, and the statue of Chu Van An, a revered teacher of Vietnam. They also enjoyed a performance of quan ho, a form of folk singing charactised by a duet format, recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Chinh briefed Luxon on the history of the Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university established nearly 1,000 years ago. He emphasised the country’s deep-rooted tradition of studiousness and respecting teachers, noting that today, the Communist Party of Vietnam and the Government continue to give top priority to education and training.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon enjoy art performances. The New Zealand PM expresses admiration for Vietnam’s rich cultural heritage and educational legacy. (Photo: VNA)
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and his New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon enjoy art performances. The New Zealand PM expresses admiration for Vietnam’s rich cultural heritage and educational legacy. (Photo: VNA)

The New Zealand PM expressed admiration for Vietnam’s rich cultural heritage and educational legacy, highlighting the Temple of Literature as a remarkable symbol of learning and academic excellence.

Over the years, education and training have remained a key pillar of the Vietnam-New Zealand relationship. The two nations signed the Education Engagement Arrangement for the 2023-2026 period.

New Zealand continues to provide 30 scholarships annually for master’s and doctoral programmes and maintains English language training programmes for Vietnamese officials. Since 1992, over 600 Vietnamese officials have undergone English language and professional training in the country, while more than 600 scholarships have been awarded to Vietnamese students.

During Luxon's visit, Vietnam and New Zealand officially elevated their bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, reaffirming their commitment to expanding cooperation in education and training.

At the EduConnect education event held on February 26 at Foreign Trade University, Luxon announced 98 scholarships for Vietnamese students and researchers./.

Politics-Diplomacy

PM urges global partners to support Vietnam's AI, semiconductor development
Politics-Diplomacy

PM urges global partners to support Vietnam's AI, semiconductor development

Seeing institutional frameworks as both "bottleneck of bottlenecks" and "breakthrough of breakthroughs,” Vietnam is mapping out policies to develop the AI and semiconductor industries. The Government has pledged to slash at least 30% of cumbersome administrative procedures, step up decentralisation, enhance implementation capacity, and promote self-resilience and creativity among stakeholders, PM Pham Minh Chinh said.

Vietnam always regards US as strategically important partner: PM
Politics-Diplomacy

Vietnam always regards US as strategically important partner: PM

PM Pham Minh Chinh affirmed the message of Party General Secretary To Lam and senior Vietnamese leaders that they attach great importance to and want to cooperate closely with President Trump’s administration to promote the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and maintain a stable and increasingly substantive development momentum.

Party leader meets former Singaporean Prime Minister
Politics-Diplomacy

Party leader meets former Singaporean Prime Minister

Party General Secretary To Lam and former PM of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong discussed ways to further deepen bilateral relations in this new phase of development, in line with the freshly established Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This includes enhancing collaboration between the two ruling parties by promoting delegation exchanges and sharing experience in governance and national development.

Vietnam proposes key priorities for advancing gender equality
Politics-Diplomacy

Vietnam proposes key priorities for advancing gender equality

Sharing Vietnam’s achievements, Thanh noted that women account for nearly one-third of Vietnam’s National Assembly members; 40% of Vietnam’s STEM workforce is female; 26.5% of businesses in the country are owned by women; women account for 68.5% of the country’s labour force, surpassing the global average of 48.7% and 14.4% of Vietnam’s peacekeepers are women, higher than the UN average of 10.2%.