LOS BAÑOS, Laguna: Teerakiat Jareonsettasin, the Education Minister of Thailand and president of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) Council, led ground-breaking for the Southeast Asian AgriMuseum and Learning Center on Agricultural and Rural Development during his visit on April 19 to the Philippine-hosted Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA).
The museum will rise adjacent to the SEARCA headquarters at the University of the Philippines here.
Its state-of-the-art exhibition space will promote awareness of agricultural and rural development in Southeast Asia as well as appreciation of science-based knowledge and innovations in agriculture in an interactive setting.
SEARCA was Teerakiat's first stop on his first visit to the Philippines.
He was received by SEARCA Director Gil Saguiguit Jr., who presented an overview of the center's programs and activities under its 10th Five-Year Plan and its latest accomplishments.
Teerakiat expressed his support to the AgriMuseum and commended SEARCA's significant work in promoting agricultural and rural development in Southeast Asia.
SEARCA is one of the oldest centers of SEAMEO, an inter-governmental treaty organization founded in 1965 to foster cooperation among Southeast Asian nations in education, science and culture.
SEAMEO member countries are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Timor-Leste.
Teerakiat also visited the SEAMEO Regional Center for Educational Innovation and Technology (Innotech); and SEAMEO Regional Center for Public Health, Hospital Administration, Environmental and Occupational Health (TROPMED-Philippines).
He also paid a courtesy call on Education Secretary Leonor Briones on returning to Manila after his visit to SEARCA and the International Rice Research Institute in Los Baños.
Now on its 50th year, SEARCA focuses on promoting inclusive and sustainable agricultural and rural development.
