Courtesy Visit and Academic Dialogue Between the Embassy of Timor-Leste and UP
Tuesday, 2 July 2025 | 10:00 AM (GMT +8) | BOR Room, Quezon Hall, UP Diliman
Quezon City, Philippines — July 2, 2025. The Embassy of Timor-Leste in Manila conducted a courtesy visit and academic dialogue with the University of the Philippines (UP) as part of its 10-day ASEAN Immersion Program for emerging Timorese leaders. Held at the Board of Regents Room in Quezon Hall, UP Diliman, the meeting underscored mutual aspirations for deeper academic collaboration, knowledge exchange, and regional integration. Led by H.E. Marciano Octavio Garcia Da Silva, Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinary, the Timorese delegation included embassy officials, interns, and 12 young professionals from the Futuru Lider Ba ASEAN program, which promotes leadership and capacity-building among Timorese youth.
The University of the Philippines, represented by key administrators including Assistant Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs Percival Almoro (Research) and Dolores Cecilia Madrid (Internationalization), deans from several UP colleges, and officials from the Office of International Linkages (OIL), welcomed the opportunity to engage in meaningful dialogue.
Discussions also featured possible collaborations with specific academic units. The Asian Center expressed interest in incorporating Timor-Leste into its regional scope and exploring joint conferences and faculty mobility, while the College of Social Sciences and Philosophy noted Timor-Leste’s inclusion in its Southeast Asian politics curriculum.
The embassy, for its part, committed to revisiting a 17-year-old agreement with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to facilitate a renewed partnership.
During the open forum, members of the Futuru Lider Ba ASEAN delegation raised insightful questions on UP’s strategies for industry-readiness, curriculum modernization, and sustainability research. In response, UP officials highlighted the university’s ongoing quality assurance initiatives, regular curriculum reviews based on industry input, and strong support for research aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).