Vietnamese, Lao PMs attend training centre’s inaugural ceremony

The centre is a symbol of science and technology cooperation between Vietnam and Laos as it was built by the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology following the 35th meeting of the Inter-governmental Committee on Economic, Cultural, Educational, Scientific and Technological Cooperation between Vietnam and Laos in Vietnam’s Vinh Phuc province on December 19, 2012.

The Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam and Laos worked closely and launched construction of the centre in September 2015 and made the final touches on the work in December 2017.

Built at the cost of over VND98 billion from the Vietnamese Government’s ODA source, the centre is capable of training 600-800 scientific managerial officials a year and is a working place of a 70-member staff.

In 2012-2017, 308 Lao officials received short-term and long-term training in Vietnam and the figure is modest compared with Laos’s demands and orientations to develop a strong contingent of scientific and technological officials.

Therefore, the centre will help the Lao Ministry of Science and Technology meet the development goals and tasks assigned by the Lao Party and Government to make use of science and technology as a main driver of the national socio-economic growth.

Addressing the event, Minister of Science and Technology of Vietnam Chu Ngoc Anh expressed his hope that the Lao Ministry of Science and Technology will continue working closely with the Vietnamese counterpart on the centre’s operation.

Lao Minister of Science and Technology Boviengkham Vongdara showed his profound gratitude to the Party, State and Government of Vietnam for their assistance and support to the Lao people. He also thanked the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology for its wholehearted assistance to the Lao counterpart.

The centre’s first course will be on creative renovation for 50 managerial officials from the Lao Ministry of Science and Technology, other ministries and sectors and businesses.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc is in Laos for the 40th meeting of the Vietnam-Laos Inter-government Committee to which he is the co-chair.