NDO/VNA - The Secretariat of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in collaboration with the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to ASEAN are organising virtually the 4th ASEAN-EU Cooperation and Scholarship Day on August 12-13.

In his opening speech, ASEAN Secretary General Dato Lim Jock Hoi emphasised that as strategic partners, ASEAN and the EU share a strong multifaceted cooperation with common values and determination to ensure continued development in the region.

He said the partnership between the two sides is developing across all pillars, including promoting a knowledge-based society and improving the region's competitiveness through higher education.

Recognising that education remains key to the region's post-COVID recovery, ASEAN has been working to ensure provision of quality education, he said, adding that in the new normal, the role of higher education in developing adaptive human resources becomes even more important.

The expansion of the Support to Higher Education in the ASEAN Region (SHARE) programme is an important part of the joint efforts of the two sides to realise the Regional Higher Education Space, he stressed.

For his part, EU Ambassador to ASEAN Igor Driesmans affirmed that people-to-people exchange is a focus of bilateral partnership between the two sides.

The 4th ASEAN-EU Cooperation and Scholarship Day aims to promote specific educational opportunities that help enhance experiences, tighten relationships, and change lives.

The European diplomat asserted that the exchange of students and talented researchers between the two regions brings great benefits.

Since 2016, the SHARE Programme has provided 501 scholarships to students from ASEAN’s universities and will continue to support 300 students before the end of 2022, he said.

The ambassador expressed his hope that with cooperation efforts, the ASEAN Scholarship programme will soon be formed with a vision similar to the Erasmus scholarship model in Europe, which supports 1,000 students and researchers to experience at a university in another EU country per year.