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.
