Dr. Khan is also the Representative to the Cluster Offices - Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste. With him in the meeting were Dr. Olivia Castillo of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board (UNSGAB) on Water and Sanitation and Mr. Hussein Macarambom, Project Liaison Officer, UNESCO Office-Manila.
Dr. Gil C. Saguiguit, Jr., SEARCA Director, received the delegation from UNESCO together with Dr. Virginia R. Cardenas, Deputy Director for Administration; Dr. Bessie M. Burgos, Program Head, Research and Development Department (RDD); Dr. Maria Celeste H. Cadiz, Program Head, Knowledge Management Department (KMD); and Ms. Zacyl A. Jalotjot, Program Specialist, Graduate Education and Institutional Development Department (GEIDD). They gave a briefing on SEARCA’s current priorities and programs.
Dr. Shahbaz pointed out the convergence of SEARCA’s programs and activities, particularly on upscaling effective models of Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural and Rural Development (ISARD) in Southeast Asia, with UNESCO programs in the Asia-Pacific region.
Also presented during the meeting was the concept of the Southeast Asian AgriMuseum and Learning Center which SEARCA plans to kick off on its 50th Founding Anniversary in 2016. Other areas of cooperation discussed during the meeting include conduct of training courses and conferences on common areas of interest.