SFA-AGR-179-08

PERMDEL TO UNESCO, PARIS, ORGANIZES ASEAN WORKING LUNCH

WITH THE UNESCO DIRECTOR-GENERAL

24 March 2008—The Philippine Permanent Delegation to UNESCO recently organized a working lunch of the Committee of ASEAN Member States of UNESCO or AUC with UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura shortly before the latter’s visit to Southeast Asia to attend key high-level meetings.

According to Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO Jose Abeto Zaide, Mr Matsuura was flying to Bali, Indonesia to participate in the Seventh Ministerial Review Meeting of the Nine High-Population Countries (also known as E-9) which will focus on improved teacher education, then onward to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for the annual conference of the council of the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization or SEAMEO where Matsuura will sign a revised SEAMEO-UNESCO Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of education.

Following the ASEAN tradition of alphabetical rotation, the Philippines is this year’s secretary of AUC and will assume its chairmanship in 2010. Malaysia is currently AUC chair with Myanmar as vice chair.

AUC was reconstituted in 2006 following the adoption of its terms of reference. The Philippines led the drafting of this document, which binds ASEAN Member Countries in UNESCO to speak with a common voice on major issues in the Organization that affect ASEAN’s collective interests in education, science, culture and communication

Last September, the Philippine Permanent Delegation led AUC in the preparations for the ASEAN Academic Forum and the ASEAN Cultural Evening on the occasion of ASEAN’s 40^th founding anniversary. END

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