BCCIE signed an official Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Tuesday, October 11 with The Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO RETRAC), an intergovernmental organization that promotes regional cooperation in education, science and culture. The signing took place at SFU Harbour Centre located in Downtown Vancouver.

Dr. Randall Martin, Executive Director of BCCIE, commented that “We are delighted to be formalizing this relationship with SEAMEO RETRAC, on behalf of the education sector of BC. It will function as a platform to help all of our sectors better engage in Vietnam and we view with great optimism the coming years of educational collaboration.” 

Additional background

This MOU falls on the heels of the Team BC Mission to Southeast Asia. It also follows a successful joint SEAMEO RETRAC and BCCIE education conference held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam this summer.

Southeast Asia is a growing source region of international students to BC. With a population of over 600 million, the ASEAN nations make up approximately 9% of the global population. In BC, there are over 1,500 international students in BC from Indonesia and Vietnam collectively, and this number is expected to grow.