Symbolic Return: Vietnamese Prime Minister’s Visit to Romania marks 40 years since graduating from Bucharest’s Faculty of Construction in 1984

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh is on an official visit to Romania – a rare event for the head of government of one of Asia’s most dynamic economies. In addition to meetings with Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu and President Klaus Iohannis, the Vietnamese official also had an important item on his agenda: a visit to the faculty he graduated from in 1984.

Thus, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited the Faculty of Civil, Industrial, and Agricultural Construction at the University of Civil Engineering Bucharest on Sunday, according to the official Vietnamese press. He met with Rector Radu Sorin Văcăreanu and other professors of the university.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh was sent to Romania during the period when both countries were part of the socialist bloc and had regular student exchanges. The Prime Minister himself said during his speech at the University of Civil Engineering that „between 1960 and 1989, Romania trained between 100 and 200 Vietnamese students each year”.

„Vietnam highly appreciates the support and assistance in terms of facilities, techniques, and human resource training for Vietnam; through which Romania helped Vietnam build the Hai Phong Cement Factory, the Lao Cai Apatite Mine, and several coal mines in Quang Ninh; creating numerous industrial, agricultural, and defense equipment,” said the Vietnamese head of government.

„For me, the Technical University of Civil Engineering Bucharest is a part of life. I will never forget the help and care of the teachers and students. Every time I come to Romania, I always return to school, no matter how long or short the visit is,” said the Prime Minister, who repeated in Romanian, „The School of the University of Civil Engineering Bucharest is part of my life,” according to the Vietnamese press.

After graduating from the faculty in Romania, the young Pham Minh Chinh was employed in Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security as an intelligence officer, according to his official biography. In 1991, he transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and one of his first diplomatic posts was at the Vietnamese embassy in Bucharest.

Later, he began a political career in the Communist Party and climbed the ranks to the position of Prime Minister in 2021.