Bangkok--16 Aug--AIT
Former President of the Philippines Fidel V. Ramos visited the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) recently (9 August 2013), meeting with a member of the AIT Executive Committee, the Interim President, Interim Vice President, Acting Deans and members of the Institute’s Philippine expatriate community.
President Ramos was accompanied to the campus by H.E. Mrs. Jocelyn S. Batoon-Garcia, Ambassador of the Philippines to Thailand and Mr. Edgar B. Badajos, Minister and Consul General, Embassy of the Philippines, Thailand.
The 12th President of the Philippines was received by Dr. Sahas Bunditkul, Member, AIT Executive Committee, and Former Deputy Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, and Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai, Interim AIT President.
Welcoming the former Philippine president, President Worsak said AIT was deeply honored by his presence, and recalled that the President Ramos had also joined AIT at its fiftieth anniversary celebrations in Bangkok in 2009. The president also informed President Ramos that AIT is very interested to attract more Filipino students, faculty and partners.
The widely admired statesman handed over to the AIT library a number of books published by the Ramos Peace and Development Foundation (RPDEV). President Ramos founded the RPDEV as an organization dedicated to peace and development in the Philippines and in the larger Asia-Pacific region. He was also briefed on recent developments at AIT by President Worsak, as well as by Prof. Sivanappan Kumar, Vice President for Academic Affairs; Dr. Nitin K. Tripathi, Dean of the School of Engineering and Technology; and Dr. Donyaprueth Krairit, Dean of the School of Management.
During his visit, he also engaged in warm discussions with a large group of Filipino faculty and staff members who welcomed his visit. “I’m an AIT alumnus,” said President Ramos, playfully reminding all that he was awarded an honorary doctorate from AIT in 1998.
Photo caption: (From left:) Dr. Sahas Bunditkul, Former President Fidel V. Ramos, and Prof. Worsak Kanok-Nukulchai.