(September 18, 2023) The Center for Business Studies and Innovation in Asia-Pacific (CBSI) thanks University of San Francisco President Rev. Paul Fitzgerald, S.J.; USF’s Office of the President; and the Vietnamese Consulate in San Francisco for the invitation to join a campus visit by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Accompanying the Prime Minister were Vietnamese Consul General in San Francisco Hoang Anh Tuan and numerous cabinet ministers. Prime Minister Pham met with University students, faculty and leaders at the beginning of a seven-day trip to the United States that culminated in his speech at the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York.
Prime Minister Pham and President Fitzgerald spoke of the long and lasting ties between Vietnam and the Jesuit Church. President Fitzgerald noted that the first Jesuits arrived in Vietnam in 1615. Prime Minister Pham added that it was a Jesuit missionary priest in the 1600’s who created the first Latinized script of the Vietnamese language from which the modern Vietnamese alphabet is based.
President Fitzgerald shared that the University has students from over 100 countries and territories, among them approximately 80 Vietnamese students, which constitute USF’s the third-largest international student community after those from China and India. Prime Minister Pham expressed his appreciation for the educational opportunities afforded Vietnamese students, adding “I hope that the University of San Francisco will provide Vietnamese students with more scholarship programs focusing on new fields such as innovation, digital transformation, (and) green transformation.”
CBSI Executive Director Dr. Xiaohua Yang is deeply appreciative of the strong relationship between the Vietnamese Consulate in San Francisco and the Center for Business Studies and Innovation in Asia-Pacific and vows to continue to strengthen ties between the University and Vietnam. CBSI thanks Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Consul General Hoang Anh Tuan for their visit.
PIctured above (right to left): University of San Francisco President Rev. Paul Fitzgerald, S.J. welcoming Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Consul General Hoang Anh Tuan; CBSI Associate Director William Ktsanes greeting Prime Minister Pham; Minister Pham addressing the University community; Prime Minister Pham presenting a gift to President Fitzgerald