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The Secretary for Education, Mr Michael Suen, will depart for Vietnam and Brunei this afternoon (April 17), leading a higher education delegation promoting Hong Kong as a regional education hub.
The trip forms part of Hong Kong's ongoing efforts to promote the city's education services in Asian countries, and follows similar visits to Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, Japan and India last year.
In addition to publicising Hong Kong's initiatives to further internationalise and diversify the higher education sector, the visit also aims to encourage students in Vietnam and Brunei to pursue studies and engage in exchange programmes in Hong Kong.
Mr Suen will first stop at Hanoi, where he will meet the Vietnamese Vice Minister of Education and Training, Mr Bui Van Ga, on April 18. The Education Bureau and the Ministry of Education and Training of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Education Collaboration to strengthen mutual co-operation in education in April 2009.
Mr Suen will address a networking luncheon on "Nurturing Talents in a Globalised World". The delegation will also tour the Vietnam National University and the United Nations International School Hanoi, a renowned international school with students from over 50 countries.
Before concluding the visit to Hanoi, Mr Suen will call on the Chinese Ambassador to Vietnam, Mr Sun Guoxiang.
On April 19, Mr Suen and the delegation will begin the second leg of the visit to Bandar Seri Begawan, where they will meet the Chinese Ambassador to Brunei, Mr Min Yongnian.
They will call on the Minister of Education of Brunei on April 20 to update him on Hong Kong's latest developments in the higher education sector. The delegation will then visit the Jerudong International School, a leading international school in Brunei offering the British curriculum to children of all ages, as well as the Universiti Brunei Darussalam.
Mr Suen will also deliver a speech at a networking luncheon which aims to foster education exchange and collaboration between Hong Kong and Brunei.
Accompanying Mr Suen will be the Deputy Secretary for Education, Ms Michelle Li, and representatives from eight local higher education institutions: the City University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Baptist University, the Lingnan University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Institute of Education, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the University of Science and Technology and the University of Hong Kong.
Mr Suen will return to Hong Kong on April 21.
Ends/Sunday, April 17, 2011
Issued at HKT 16:01
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