On 16 September 2013, Minister of State for Energy Pál Kovács and Vietnam's Deputy Minister of Education Pham Manh Hung signed an agreement on bilateral cooperation within the fields of nuclear training, research, administration and technology, in the presence of President of the Republic János Áder and President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Truong Tan Sang at Sándor Palace, the official residence of Hungary's President in Budapest.

"Hungary's greatest, most priceless and unique treasure is knowledge", Minister of State Pál Kovács said with relation to the agreement, adding that Hungary is prepared to begin international cooperation in education with nations that make responsible decisions to enable the long-term and secure energy supply of future generations in the spirit of sustainable development.

Vietnam will being construction of its first atomic power plant next year and plans to have 10 reactor blocks in operation by 2030 with a capacity exceeding 10 000 MW.

Within the framework of what may be regarded as the first step of the Hungarian-Vietnamese Cooperation Agreement, the large-scale nuclear training programme (HUNIVETT), Vietnamese experts have been travelling to Hungary in several shifts since September 2012. Some 120 professionals have so far completed the 6-week theory and practical training courses held at the Budapest University of Technology and MVM Paks Nuclear Power Plant's Maintenance Training Centre. The latest group of 40 Vietnamese students began their studies this September.

High-level negotiations have been ongoing in both Budapest and Hanoi since last March in the interests of expanding the HUNIVETT programme.

(Ministry of National Development)