The Philippines and Timor-Leste are set to renew an agreement that would boost cooperation in the area of higher education, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.

The decision was made during the meeting between President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and visiting Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta.

“The two Leaders agreed to prioritize cooperation in the fields of higher education, health, and social security, among others, for the betterment of their citizens,” the DFA said in a statement.

“Towards this end, the two Leaders directed their concerned agencies to renew the Memorandum of Agreement on Cooperation in Higher Education,” it added.

The Philippine Embassy in Dili said education constitutes one of the major pillars of the bilateral partnership between the Philippines and Timor-Leste.

In 2009, the Timor-Leste government began deploying Timorese scholars to pursue tertiary education in the Philippines under the MOA on academic cooperation.

In 2013, the two countries also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Teacher Training.

On top of education, Ramos-Horta and Marcos also discussed ways to address the socio-economic challenges in Timor-Leste, with the latter expressing readiness to support capacity building projects in the country.

The support, the DFA said, would contribute to the early realization of Timor-Leste’s ASEAN membership.

Last August, Philippine Ambassador to Timor-Leste Belinda Ante paid a courtesy call on Timor-Leste National Parliament President Maria Fernanda Lay and relayed that Manila was exploring “long-term responses in areas such as agriculture, health, and education, as well as immediate assistance in addressing maternal mortality, malnutrition, and stunting”. (PNA)