STATEMENT BY YB DATO’ SRI ANIFAH AMAN MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF MALAYSIA ASIA COOPERATION DIALOGUE (ACD) FOREIGN MINISTERS’ BREAKFAST MEETING 22 SEPTEMBER 2014, NEW YORK Intervention Notes on the Theme for the 13th ACD Ministerial Meeting: “Distinguished Education: A Way to the Future” Mr. Chairman, I would like to join other delegates in thanking you for convening our Ministerial Meeting this morning. I would also like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to the Kingdom of Bahrain, the outgoing Chairman, for its substantive contributions to ACD for the last one year. I would like to thank Thailand for its diligence as the coordinator of ACD since its establishment 12 years ago. 2. Malaysia commends the Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for selecting and conceptualising this year’sACD theme on the future of education. Malaysia welcomes the theme as the importance of education cannot be emphasized enough. Education is key to the progress of a nation and crucial to social development and its economic growth. Education is an investment in human capitaland it has great impact on a nation’s growth and development. An educated population is one of its greatest assets. Nelson Mandela once said that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. 3. Malaysia believes that the subject of education will be of great interest to all ACD member countries in our aspiration to progress in human and economic growth. It is also timely as all member countries are undergoing various phases of development and transformation in a rapidly changing world. Mr. Chairman, 4. As a Prime Mover in the e-education domain, Malaysia supports this initiative by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to focus our attention on education. It complements the foundation and structure of e-education. In our endeavour to enhance the structure of e-education, we would like to call upon the Ministerial Meeting to consider transforming the Asia e-University (AeU) into one of the primary international education platforms. 5. We firmly believe that the establishment of the Asia e-University in Malaysia has served as a platform in facilitating regional cooperation among ACD member countries. 6. In this connection, we would like to propose that ACD member countries revisit the idea of the Asian Credit Transfer System as it will encourage more collaborative efforts in education among us, and pave the way for greater mobility in the education sector. 7. Malaysia is also hopeful that the establishment of the Asia Centre of e-Learning in the Asia e-University will be realised soon. This will enable it to be a knowledge-sharing hub, a training base for online learning and an implementer of the policy on e-learning. It is hoped that the setting-up of the Asia Centre of e-Learning will accelerate the launch of the much-needed Asia Credit Transfer System which will facilitatethe participation of ACD member countries in the sharing of expertise and knowledge through e-learning. Thank you. Delivered by: YB Minister of Foreign Affairs
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 11:52:03 +0000
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