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Committees representing Australian and French vice-chancellors have signed a formal agreement on co-operation involving staff and student exchanges, research collaboration and mutual recognition of academic qualifications.

The agreement was signed between the Australian Vice-chancellors's Committee and the Conference des Presidents d'Universite during a visit to Paris by AVCC president John Niland and executive director Stuart Hamilton.

Professor Niland said the agreement represented a significant step in the AVCC's strategy to strengthen university links between Australia and Europe.

The AVCC already has agreements with Germany, Sweden and Austria, and hopes to develop an agreement with Italy later this year. In Asia, the committee has signed agreements with its counterpart organisations in Thailand and Malaysia and is about to sign one with India. An AVCC delegation will visit South Korea later this year to discuss cooperation with the country's leaders.