Final
Report: 41st SEAMEO Council Conference
The Swissotel the Stamford
Republic of Singapore
22-23 March 2006
The Swissotel the Stamford
Republic of Singapore
22-23 March 2006
Proceedings
Contents |
| Proceedings |
| Appendices |
Appendix
4.3.7 |
Statement by H E Professor Dr Bosengkham Vongdara, Acting Minister of Education of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic |
| Your Excellency
Mr Tharman Shannugaratnam, Minister of Education, Republic of Singapore, and Chairman of the SEAMEO Council Conference, Excellencies, Ministers, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, |
It
is my great pleasure and honour, on behalf of the Lao delegation,
to attend the 41st SEAMEO Council Conference, which is the most
important and meaningful event of the organisation. |
On
this significant occasion, I would like to express our heartfelt
congratulations to His Excellency Mr Tharman Shannugaratnam, Minister
for Education, Singapore, on his election as President of SEAMEO
Council and Chairman of this conference. Allow me also to extend
my congratulations to His Excellency Prof Dr Bambang Sudibyo, Minister
for Education, Indonesia, on his election as Vice-President. We
are confident that during your term of presidency, the cooperation,
solidarity and mutual understanding will be even more developed.
Most sincere thanks should go to the Government of Singapore, especially
the Ministry of Education for hosting this 41st SEAMEO Council Conference.
|
I
would also like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation
to our outgoing SEAMEC President, His Excelleny Prof Dr Nguyen Minh
Hien, Minister for Education, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,
for his tireless effort and leadership in strengthening SEAMEO’s
role in educational development in the SEAMEO Member Countries. |
| Excellency
Mr Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, |
The
admission of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to SEAMEO shows
the growth of the organisation in terms of quantity and quality.
More importantly, it signifies a strong relationship, cooperation,
solidarity and mutual understanding between and amongst SEAMEO Member
Countries. In this very significant moment, allow me to express
my heartfelt congratulations and warmest welcome to the Democratic
Republic of Timor-Leste our new Member Country. Congratulations!
|
As
SEAMEO is getting bigger, I am confident that the role of SEAMEO
will become even bigger and more dynamic, especially in the area
of human resource development. According to its fine tradition of
cooperation, SEAMEO has made its effort through its Secretariat
and Centres to strengthen cooperation amongst Member Countries in
speeding up human resource development. As socio-economic development
will depend more on human resources, the need for a high trained
workforce with certain knowledge of practical science and technology
has increased in every Member Country. |
In
this regard, SEAMEO Centres have played a very important role in
promoting this concept through organising a number of educational
and cultural activities within the region. As a result, the youths
and people of the region have developed better mutual understanding,
shared experience and know-how, and got closer to one another. Through
these activities of cooperation and exchange, Lao PDR has benefited
considerably. Since there is still a large gap among our SEAMEO
Member Countries, Lao PDR highly appreciates and supports the policy
of subsidizing the Member Countries that lack financial capacity.
This fine tradition of cooperation should be maintained or even
developed further. Therefore, my most profound congratulations should
also go to Director of SEAMEO Secretariat, Dr Edilberto de Jesus,
Directors of SEAMEO Centres and staff, as well as international
Organisations for their outstanding work of management, coordination,
and support in human resource development, especially in education
sector. |
With
regard to the concept of ASEAN-SEAMEO incorporation, I would like
to emphasize once again that the combined and collaborative strength
between ASEAN Education Ministers and SEAMEO will be a great benefit
to the Member Countries. However, due to the real requirements in
terms of financial support, the fund for educational activities
should be arranged under the ASEAN mechanisms and processes. |
Finally,
I would like to once again thank H E Mr Tharman Shannugaratnam,
Minister of Education, Republic of Singapore, Chairman of the SEAMEO
Council Conference, the Organising Committee of the Conference and
supporting staff for his warm hospitality and excellent arrangement
and facilities extended to us during our stay here in Singapore.
May I also thank all Member Countries, Associate Member Countries,
International Organisations, the SEAMEO Secretariat and all Regional
Centres for their kind cooperation and assistance in improving the
quality of education development. |
Last
but not least, may I pledge a continued strong support and cooperation
to ASEAN and SEAMEO. |
| Thank you very much for your attention. |
