Dr Kambiz Ghawami, President of the World University Service of Germany, grants an interview to the Vietnam News Agency. (Photo: VNA)

Berlin – The upcoming state visit to Vietnam by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier will enhance overall cooperation, including in education – a key factor of prosperity in each country, said Dr Kambiz Ghawami, President of the World University Service of Germany.

Talking to the Vietnam News Agency ahead of the visit on January 23 - 24, Ghawami said the two countries boast long-standing cooperation in higher education which has grown well for many decades.

Over the last 10 years, the number of Vietnamese students in Germany has risen from 2,717 in 2013 to 7,600 at present, not including thousands of other Vietnamese holding German passports. Besides, there are nearly 3,000 students at the Vietnamese - German University (VGU) in Ho Chi Minh City.

Meanwhile, the number of German students in Vietnam remains limited, less than 50 each year. Therefore, more information and incentives are needed to turn Vietnam into an attractive education destination, he pointed out.

An advantage is that the VGU has frequently received German students coming from its partner universities in Vietnam as part of training cooperation programmes. Such programmes are the key to increasing German students at Vietnamese universities, giving them opportunities to learn about the Vietnamese people and culture, he noted.

Ghawami considered the VGU, founded in 2008, as an important contributor to the modernisation of Vietnamese universities, helping enhance the country’s scientific competitiveness in the world.

The scholar cited Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who joined in the signing of the declaration on the VGU establishment in 2008 as Federal Foreign Minister of Germany, as saying that the VGU is a future-oriented cooperation project helping draw younger generations’ attention to bilateral ties.

Ghawami said the VGU is like a “lighthouse project”. Since its inception, it has been striving to serve as a special bridge linking Vietnam and Germany, and to establish itself as a leading research university in Southeast Asia. The VGU and partner universities are working on common projects of national, regional, and global importance.

Stressing the importance of President Steinmeier’s visit to educational cooperation, he held that the two countries share many similarities and have reinforced ties in education for decades. They should invest more in education, which is critical to national prosperity.

Germany is famous for techniques while Vietnam for creativity. The combination of their strengths in education, research, and innovation will benefit both sides, according to Ghawami.