On 30 August 2016, the Symposium of Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization Tropical Medicine and Public Health (SEAMEO TROPMED) Network was kicked off in Bangkok, Thailand. The Opening Ceremony of the Symposium was attended by more than 200 participants including senior officials of the Ministries of Health, the Ministries of Education of 11 Southeast Asian Countries, Governing Board Members, Center Directors and former leaders of SEAMEO TROPMED Network, Directors of SEAMEO regional centres, as well as relevant specialists and representatives of its partners. H.E. Mme. Yang Xiuping, Secretary-General of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), Prof. Dr. Pratap Singhasivanon, Secretary General of SEAMEO TROPMED Network, Dr. Gatot Hari Priowirjanto, Director of SEAMEO, Dr. Amnuay Gajeena, Director General of Department of Disease Control, the Ministry of Public Health of Thailand, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kamjorn Tatiyakavee, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education of Thailand, H.E. Dr. Paulyn Jean Rusell-Ubial, Secretary of Health of the Philippines, participated in the opening and delivered remarks.
Secretary-General Yang Xiuping extended her congratulations on the 50th anniversary of SEAMEO TROPMED Network. She briefed on ACC’s efforts to promote the realization of the “Double 100,000 Student Mobility Goals” initiated by the leaders of ASEAN Member States and China, and the educational cooperation between ASEAN and China. She reviewed the fruitful achievements of the cooperation with SEAMEO. First, close contact and communication were well maintained. Second, a series of cooperative mechanisms and platforms had been jointly established. Third, contributions had been made hand in hand to the China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week. Fourth, a series of visits, forums and workshops to strengthen intercollegiate partnerships had been jointly organized. ACC and SEAMEO TROPMED Network had jointly made many efforts to promote exchange and cooperation in ASEAN-China traditional medicine and health education. Strengthening talent cultivation in public health and disease prevention and control would be beneficial to social and economic development, to combating with non-traditional security challenges such as epidemic diseases, and to expanding ASEAN-China people-to-people exchanges. 2016 marks the 25th anniversary of ASEAN-China dialogue relations and ASEAN-China Year of Educational Exchange. ACC would further strengthen cooperation with SEAMEO TROPMED Network and other relevant regional centres of SEAMEO so as to make new contributions to the prosperous development of regional education and to deepening ASEAN-China strategic partnership.
In his welcome speech, Secretary General Prof. Dr. Pratap Singhasivanon reviewed the efforts and contributions that SEAMEO TROPMED Network had made in the past 50 years to enhance the benefits of the people in the region and serve social development. He expressed his appreciation for the predecessors’ contributions and the supports from its partners including ACC, and looked forward to the prospect of the Network. Dr. Gatot Hari Priowirjanto and other guests expressed in their respective remarks that the 50th anniversary of SEAMEO TROPMED is a significant milestone. The sustainable development of health service is related to people’s health and social prosperity. It is expected that through comprehensive regional and international cooperation, the health service could make much greater achievement in the aspects of scientific research, and serving teaching, teachers and students, thus to benefit the people of the region.
ACC has facilitated to build connection among SEAMEO TROPMED Network, National Chinese Medicine Teaching Advisory Board under the Ministry of Education of China and Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and jointly hosted the Forum on Traditional Medicine and Health Professional Education during the 9th China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week.