On May 31, former President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam Truong Tan Sang came to Okayama and paid President Makino a courtesy visit.

During the courtesy visit, President Makino explained how Okayama University opened its first overseas office on the campus of Vietnam’s Hue University in April 2007, and has since been pushing academic and educational exchange forward with Vietnam. He also shared how as a result of those efforts, there has been a huge increase in the number of Vietnamese students in recent years and that they make up the largest group of international students after Chinese students now. The number of Vietnamese students who pursue a doctoral degree is high, which contributes to development of highly skilled experts and researchers. Former President Sang stated, “Japan is an important partner and I hope that opportunities for young students and researchers to be accepted into more faculties at Okayama University will continue to expand. I look forward to exchange taking place in the areas of agriculture and medicine in the future with Vietnam.”

Okayama University will continue to build a stronger partnership with Vietnam in many areas such as academic exchange, human resource development, etc.