Mr Triet made the remarks while receiving RMIT General Director, Michael Mann, in Hanoi on October 6. He spoke highly of the active contributions by Mr Mann, a close friend of Vietnam, to the country’s development, particularly in the field of education and training.

The State President mentioned the construction of My Thuan bridge, which is considered a symbol of good friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Australia. He thanked the Australian Government for its valuable assistances in building RMIT University in Vietnam, and Mr Mann in particular for his active role as an Australian Ambassador to Vietnam at that time.

Mr Triet stressed that Vietnam and Australia have close relations and the two countries’ cooperation in the economic, cultural, social and education sectors has helped both sides boost national development of both sides.

He went on to say that Vietnam pays due attention to increasing the quality of education in order to develop a highly-skilled labour force to meet the country’s demand for comprehensive development.

President Triet also praised Australia’s assistance in poverty reduction programmes in Vietnam to help local people improve their living conditions.

For his part, the RMIT General Director expressed his thanks to President Triet’s invaluable help during his working term as Australian Ambassador to Vietnam in the past, as well as his current work in education development in Vietnam.

Mr Mann said he will leave Vietnam after a decade of working in the country, but he considers himself as an unofficial Ambassador to Vietnam and will continue to support the country in the future.