The Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training signed Wednesday an agreement with the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Hanoi to teach German as a first or second foreign language at Vietnamese schools, the German Embassy said in a press release issued the same day.

Under this agreement, Vietnamese students at selected schools will be provided with knowledge of the German language and culture, adequate enough to follow courses at preparatory schools or universities in Germany after they graduate from high school.

MoET and the German body first piloted to teach German as a second foreign language in Vietnamese middle and high schools as part of the "Schools: Partners for the Future" (PASCH) initiative in 2007.    

The signing of the pact today marked the end of the piloting and heralded a new phase in which Vietnamese students can choose to learn German as a first or second foreign language, in addition to English, French, Japanese, Russia, and Chinese.

As part of the initiative, over 1,400 students have so far learned German as a foreign language at designated schools in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong City.

A global network of some 1,500 schools that place a high value on German, PASCH is an initiative of the Federal Foreign Office in cooperation with several other German agencies and institutions to inspire young people at these schools to learn the German language and open doors to German culture, science and business.