Promoting European Studies in Vietnam as an Approach to Enhance Vietnam - EU Relations

Abstract

The relationship between Vietnam and Europe can be traced back to four centuries ago as the first European missionaries set their feet in the country. However, the bilateral relationship does not match and does not satisfy both sides. The main objective of the paper is to analyze the development of European Studies in Vietnam from historical perspective by using the first hand information collected in Vietnam. To this end, the paper consists of three parts. The first part provides an overview of Vietnam - EU relations asthe basis to understand its current situation. The second part describes how European Studies in Vietnam have developed during last two decades. The third part analyses some challenges for European Studies. The paper concludes that the EU Studies program must be the number one priority in the bilateral relationship and must play the role as an efficient instrument to boost better understanding of the EU.