BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Minister of Education Datin Seri Setia Dr Romaizah Mohd Salleh, as President of the South-East Asian Ministers of Education Organisation (SEAMEO) Council for 2025 – 2027, concluded a working visit to Bangkok, Thailand, from October 29 to 30, 2026.
The visit is part of the minister’s visits to strengthen cooperation among SEAMEO member countries, including courtesy calls on SEAMEO Council members and visits to the SEAMEO Secretariat, regional centres and networks.
In Bangkok, the minister first paid a courtesy call on Minister of Education of Thailand Prasert Jantararuangtong to discuss bilateral cooperation and ways to further strengthen educational ties between Brunei Darussalam and Thailand. The discussion covered Thailand’s education priorities, special needs education (particularly early intervention in early childhood education), the need for qualified teachers, and students’ reliance on artificial intelligence.
The minister also met Director of the SEAMEO Secretariat Datuk Dr Habibah Abdul Rahim, together with representatives of the Secretariat and the SEAMEO Regional Centres based in Bangkok, at the SEAMEO Secretariat Headquarters.
The meeting was an opportunity to exchange views on the centres’ mandates, programmes and initiatives in advancing regional cooperation in education, science and culture. The centres represented were SEAMEO RIHED, which focuses on higher education development; SEAMEO SEPS, which promotes the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy for sustainability; SEAMEO STEM-ED, which advances science, technology, engineering and mathematics education; SEAMEO SPAFA, which promotes cooperation in archaeology and fine arts; and SEAMEO TROPMED Thailand, which specialises in tropical medicine.
The discussion also covered the work of the SEAMEO TROPMED Network in tropical medicine and public health, highlighting the diverse contributions of SEAMEO’s specialised Centres and Networks to capacity-building, knowledge-sharing and sustainable development across South-East Asia.
Datin Seri Setia Dr Romaizah also visited Thungmahamek School for the Deaf to learn about its programmes and its teaching and learning approaches for deaf and hard-of-hearing students. The visit highlighted the importance of inclusive and accessible education, a theme that echoed her earlier discussion with Thailand’s Minister of Education on special needs education.
The minister was accompanied by Permanent Secretary (Core Education) at the Ministry of Education Dr Shamsiah Zuraini Kanchanawati Tajuddin, in her capacity as Chair of the SEAMEO High Officials Meeting (SEAMEO HOM) for 2024 – 2026. - Borneo Bulletin/ANN
