by Maria Angela F. Abad
20-January-2009 SEARCA PR News
H.E. Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin Bin Tun Hussein, SEAMEO Council President and Minister of Education of Malaysia, visited the Philippines on 19 January 2009. Various Philippine-based centers of SEAMEO gave him a briefing during a program held at SEAMEO INNOTECH, Diliman, Quezon City.
H.E. Dato' Seri Hishammuddin Bin Tun Hussein (right), SEAMEO Council President, receives from Dr. Arsenio M. Balisacan (center), SEARCA Director, an institutional gift during his visit to the Philippines on 19 January 2009. Looking on is Dr. Jesli A. Lapus, Secretary of Education, Philippines.
The gift is a wooden replica of the Growth Monument sculpture found in front of the SEARCA building.
Dr. Balisacan said, “Through its Ninth Five-Year Development Plan, SEARCA reaffirms its resolve to be the lead enabler in the science and practice of agriculture and rural development in Southeast Asia.” It also serves to advance SEAMEO’s commitment, through SEARCA, toward regional cooperation in agricultural and rural development.
Dr. Erlinda C. Pefianco, INNOTECH Director, and Dr. Nina Gloriani, TROPMED Director, spoke about their accomplishments in the past year and identified some of the challenges and prospects for the coming years.
H.E. Dato’ Seri Hishammudin remarked during the discussion that the SEAMEO centers must build on their strengths to define their niche. He said that the issues being faced by the region today, such as food security, affect all other areas of life, particularly education.
