On July 22^nd, 2011, the Office of the Higher Education Commission conducted an Informal Meeting on Higher Education Cooperation between Thailand and the Philippines which allowed senior officials of both countries to exchange viewpoints and strengthen cooperation which is in response to the ASEAN Community in 2015. The chairpersons of the meeting were Dr. Sumate Yamnoon, the Secretary General of the Higher Education Commission and Dr. Patricia B. Licuanan, the Chairman of the Commission on Higher Education, both were the heads of their respective delegations.

The senior officials of Thailand and the Philippines exchanged information and data on higher education, especially in regards to higher education administrative structures, related educational policies and laws, along with higher education quality assurance and their mutual recognition of higher education.

Moreover, both parties also exchanged suggestions and individual experiences on interested areas for future cooperation as follows:

• The cooperation between universities and the industrial sector;
• The role in higher education monitoring;
• The administration and development of educational personnel in higher education institutes;
• The core competency development for higher education institutes;
• Distance education provision;
• The research development and budget allocation for research for higher education institutes;
• The administration of Thai community colleges in Thailand and local colleges of the Philippines;
• The role of higher education institutes in response to human resource requirements;
• The management and monitoringof private higher education institutes;
• Linkage between upper secondary schools and general education of the Philippines;
• Cooperation under the national educational standard of higher education;
• The evaluation and educational certification at higher education level for academic and employment purposes.

At conclusion, both parties agreed to initiate their educational cooperation within the aforementioned framework and acknowledged the draft of the action plan for the 2^nd informal meeting scheduled for September 2011 in the Philippines.