A delegation from the Belgian Federal Parliament and the Belgian Embassy in Vietnam visited Can Tho University in the Mekong Delta city of the same name on March 9 to discuss cooperation in developing human resources in education as well as issues of mutual concern such as water resources and high-tech agriculture.

Prof. Dr. Ha Thanh Toan, Rector of Can Tho University, said the university is a key human resources training centre in the Mekong Delta region.

Highlighting the university’s strengths, he said his school wishes to cooperate with major schools and institutes in Belgium.

Belgium, particularly its tertiary system, is an important partner of the university in the fields of research and training, Toan said.

Since 1980s, the two sides have jointly conducted research in aquaculture, development of rice-fish agriculture model, and soil improvement, he added.

Georges Dallemagne, head of the Belgian delegation, underlined the bilateral cooperation in training high quality postgraduates and lecturers.

Meanwhile, Belgian Ambassador to Vietnam Paul Jansen expressed his interest in climate change, landslides, clean water resources, and high-tech agriculture in the Mekong Delta, especially rice.

Over the past time, 28 postgraduates and over 100 tutors have been sent to Belgium for training through the Mekong 1000 Project while thousands of Belgian experts have come to support farmers in the delta through projects on food industry and aquaculture science between Vietnamese and Belgium universities and academies.

Toan hoped the two sides will continue maintaining and developing the sound relations and have more cooperation projects to increase the quality of human resources and develop the environmentally-friendly agriculture in the Mekong Delta.-VNA