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Deputy Secretary of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai (L) shakes hands with Mayor of Helsinki Juhana Vartiainen |
Yesterday afternoon, the Ho Chi Minh City delegation led by Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai arrived in the capital city of Helsinki to begin a working visit to the country.
Delegates include Head of the Propaganda and Education Board of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Phan Nguyen Nhu Khue, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade Bui Ta Hoang Vu, Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Information and Communications Lam Dinh Thang and Deputy Head of the Organizing Board of Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Thai Thi Bich Lien.
Accordingly, the delegation paid a courtesy visit to the government of the capital city of Helsinki. Receiving the delegation were Mr. Juhana Vartiainen, Mayor of Helsinki; Mr. Peter, Chairman and co-founder of Finest Future and many officials of the Helsinki Metropolitan Government in charge of international cooperation, smart cities, startups and innovation.
At the meeting with the Vietnamese delegation, Mayor of Helsinki Capital Juhana Vartiainen introduced to the delegation the development vision of Helsinki Capital, which places special emphasis on three aspects including sustainable economic development, adaptation to climate change and sustainable social development. Authorities of Helsinki Capital also set a goal that the capital will become a carbon-neutral city by 2023.
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Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai (2nd, R) at the meeting |
According to Mr. Juhana Vartiainen, to achieve the above-mentioned development visions, the Helsinki Metropolitan Government takes heed of investment in education development, ensuring that all people, from children to adults, have access to equal education. People are equipped with the necessary skills.
Mr. Juhana Vartiainen also revealed that the number of Vietnamese international students in Helsinki is increasing and has become the largest international student community in Helsinki. The Helsinki government as well as capital dwellers highly appreciate the hard work, dynamism and progress of Vietnamese students.
On his part, Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai expressed his honor to lead the Ho Chi Minh City delegation to visit the beautiful and ancient capital of Helsinki where the Vietnamese delegation received a warm welcome from the leaders of the Capital of Helsinki.
According to Mr. Nguyen Ho Hai, the visit becomes even more meaningful when Vietnam and Finland are organizing activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations.
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Vietnamese delegation and Helsinki leaders |
He said that Vietnamese people always appreciate and deeply remember Finland's valuable support and assistance for Vietnam in the process of fighting for independence and unification of the country, especially the cooperation programs recently in the fields of water supply and drainage, hunger eradication and poverty reduction, rural development, and adaptation to climate change.
He also mentioned that the capital Helsinki is one of the most livable cities with the highest living standards in the world and generates 35 percent of Finland's total GDP. The HCMC leader believed that both locations are the countries’ major centers in many aspects, Ho Chi Minh City and Helsinki will take stronger steps and measures to turn potential into cooperative projects bringing practical benefits to the two localities which will pave the way for the promotion of the bilateral relations.
On the same day, the Ho Chi Minh City delegation led by Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai had a working session with Mr. Samu Seitsalo, Director of the Finnish National Agency for Education’s International Relations Division.
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At the meeting between the Vietnamese delegation and Mr. Samu Seitsalo, Director of the Finnish National Agency for Education’s International Relations Division |
At the meeting, Mr. Samu Seitsalo introduced to the delegation the tasks and functions of the Finnish National Agency for Education and the role of teachers and textbook compilation. Finland is known as the world's leading country in the proportion of the population with advanced education, accounting for 45 percent of the population.
On his part, Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Ho Hai informed that more than 2,500 Vietnamese students are studying in Finland - the second largest foreign student community in Finland. This number clearly shows that Vietnamese students are very interested in Finland's advanced education, contributing to the good future of Vietnam - Finland diplomatic relations.
Moreover, since its inauguration, Ho Chi Minh City-located Vietnam - Finland International School (VFIS) - the first international school in Southeast Asia to apply Finnish educational philosophy - and KONE Finnish Vocational Training Center are symbols of effective cooperation between the two countries with the common goal of building a future generation of Vietnam with Finnish high-quality education.
Ho Chi Minh City authorities believe that students at these schools, along with the Vietnamese international student community in Finland, will be an important bridge for the two countries’ development of bilateral relations.
The Deputy Secretary hopes that in the coming time, Finland will consider giving more scholarships for Vietnamese students, and strengthen cooperation with Ho Chi Minh City's educational institutions by supporting the development of the city's educational innovation strategy as well as experiences in school management, digital transformation in education, building joint training programs, student/teacher exchange, investment in facilities.
