Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan, Minister of Education and Training Pham Vu Luan, Minister of Science and Technology Nguyen Quan, representatives from the ministries of Education and Training, Science and Technology, and professors from foreign universities and institutes attended the ceremony. Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Nhan highlighted the important role of the institute in promoting and upholding the potential and advantages of basic scientific study, saying the institute will contribute to fostering and improving the quality of maths training and study in Vietnam. He expressed his hope that the institute will become a prestigious maths centre in both Vietnam and the region. The Director of the Institute, Professor Ngo Bao Chau, said that 2012 is a historic milestone for the Vietnamese mathematics sector. He said that the institute aims to improve the capacity of Vietnamese maths researchers and lecturers and create more opportunities for them to access The December 23rd , 2010 decision to establish the institute demonstrates the Government’s determination to realize the key national programme for developing mathematics.