Vietnam and Russia on Mar 15 agreed to set up a joint high-level university on the foundation of the existing Le Quy Don Technical University, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education and Training, Nguyen Thien Nhan, who just ended a six-day visit to Russia. Russia will provide assistance in education and training and increasing scholarships for Vietnamese graduates and post-graduates, the Vietnam News Agency said Mar 17, citing Nhan. Russia will also help Vietnam upgrade its university libraries by setting up a connected electronic library center, train specialists in Russian and send Russian language teachers to the Southeast Asian country. Vietnam is willing to receive more Russian students who want to study Vietnamese, Deputy PM Nhan added. The two sides have signed an accord regarding the reciprocal recognition and equivalence of education diplomas and scientific degrees of Vietnam and Russia. Over the past six decades, former Soviet Union and Russia now have trained more than 70,000 officials, including more than 30,000 university graduates, 3,000 associate doctorate and 2,000 doctorate degree holders. Currently, approximately 5,000 Vietnamese students are studying at universities in Russia.
