Thailand hosts 53rd SE Asian agriculture center’s board meeting

Sept. 5, 2007 - PRLog -- Thailand hosts the 53rd meeting of the Governing Board of the Philippine-based Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA). The Governing Board, which is the highest policymaking body of SEARCA, will discuss the Center’s strategies and directions in boosting the region’s agriculture and rural development sectors through SEARCA’s core programs of graduate scholarships, short-term training, research, and knowledge exchange.

Top officials of the Ministry of Education’s Office of Vocational Education Commission, Khon Kaen University, and SEARCA will speak at the meeting’s opening ceremony to be held on 5 Sep. 2007 at Sofitel Raja Orchid in Khon Kaen.

The opening ceremony includes the launch of a SEARCA-published book titled Southeast Asian Agriculture Development Primer Series: Thailand. The book was written by Dr. Nipon Poapongsakorn, Dean of the Faculty of Economics in Thammasat University and former research fellow and economist at the Thailand Development Research Institute, Thailand. The event will be attended by representatives of SEAMEO’s member-countries, officials of Thailand’s Ministry of Education, and representatives of international and national organizations.

The meeting is co-convened by the Office of Vocational Education Commission in cooperation with Khon Kaen University.

SEARCA is the center of excellence for agriculture of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO), an international organization founded in 1965 to promote cooperation in education, science, and culture. The SEAMEO member countries are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam. Its associate members are Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, and Spain.

The SEARCA Governing Board is composed of representatives of the SEAMEO member countries, and its meetings are held in rotation in the member countries. It is currently chaired by the representative of Vietnam, Dr. Dang Kim Vui, Rector of Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry.

The other Governing Board members are Mrs. Pengiran Hajah Rosidah binti Pengiran Haji Metussin of the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources, Brunei Darussalam; Dr. Chan Nareth of the Royal University of Agriculture, Cambodia; Prof. Dr. Ir H Moehammad Munir, M.S. of the Ministry of National Education, Indonesia; Mr. Sitha Khemmarath of the National University of Laos, Lao PDR; Prof. Zohadie bin Bardaei of Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia; Mr. Tin Htut Oo of the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, Myanmar; Dr. Luis Rey I. Velasco of the University of the Philippines Los Baños, Philippines; Dr. Tan Teck Koon of the National University of Singapore, Singapore; and Mr. Veerasak Wongsombut of the Vocational Education Commission, Ministry of Education, Thailand. The directors of SEARCA and SEAMEO Secretariat serve as ex officio members.

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The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) is founded on 27 November 1966. It is mandated to strengthen institutional capacities in agricultural and rural development in Southeast Asia through graduate education, short-term training, research, and knowledge exchange. It serves 11 countries, namely: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and most recently Timor-Leste.

Website: www.searca.org