1 September 2014 – Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) Chairperson Imelda Nicolas and Education Undersecretary for Partnerships and External Linkages Mario Deriquito visited Kuala Lumpur on August 26 and 27 to lay the ground work for the implementation of the recently concluded Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Cooperation in the Field of Education between the Philippines and Malaysia.

During their visit, the two officials called on Malaysian Deputy Minister of Education Datuk Mary Yap Kain Ching and other Malaysian education ministry officials, to discuss possible areas of cooperation.

Accompanying the officials during their meetings were Philippine Ambassador to Malaysia J. Eduardo Malaya, Vice Consul Alvin Malasig, Ms. Karen Pahayahay and Ms. Princess Mayumi Peralta.

The two sides agreed to explore cooperation in the areas of educational assessment, secondary technical and vocational training, information and communication technology, science and mathematics, and a community-based alternative education program for Filipino children in Sabah.

The details of the proposed activities will be further discussed at the forthcoming inaugural Joint Working Group Meeting under the MOU on Cooperation in the Field of Education to be held in Manila early next year.

 “We are looking forward to our country’s hosting of the inaugural Joint Working Group Meeting in Manila next year, and we hope to have early implementation of mutually beneficial collaborative projects,” Ambassador Malaya said.

The Philippines-Malaysia MOU on Cooperation in the Field of Education was signed by Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert F. del Rosario and Malaysian Minister for Education II Dato’ Seri Idris bin Jusoh last February 28, as one of the two agreements signed during the State Visit of President Benigno S. Aquino III to Malaysia in February this year upon the invitation of His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King) of Malaysia. END