The Ministry of Higher Education, Science, and Culture (MESCC) celebrated the signing of a technical agreement with the International Cultural Communication Center Malaysia (ICCCM) regarding training, human resource development, and curriculum development. The ceremony took place in june 18th 2024, at the MESCC Hall, Colmera, Dili. 

The signing of the technical agreement was formally conducted by the Director General of Planning and Finance, Hernâni Viterbo da Costa Soares, and the Chairman of ICCCM, Nicy Bai, accompanied by His Excellency the Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Culture, José Honório, and Benjamine Leong, a representative of ICCCM. The ceremony was attended by ministry heads and technicians. 

The agreement aims to provide opportunities for training in specialized technical areas that will be offered to Timor-Leste through the Ministry itself, with the goal of empowering Timorese human resources. The funding will be partially covered by ICCCM. Additionally, the agreement includes cooperation in curriculum development, especially for the curricula of the polytechnics that the Ministry plans to establish in Lautem, Manatuto, and Covalima.

After the signing of the agreement in the morning, the technical teams continued discussions in the afternoon about the specialized areas to be established within this cooperation, particularly in specialized training areas aligned with the needs of Timor-Leste, ranging from professional training to higher education. 

The afternoon session began with the presentation of the implementation plan and project details, presented by Benjamine Leong and his team, with the active participation of ministry heads and technicians, as well as relevant institutions such as the Betano Polytechnic Institute (IPB), the Maun de Obra Institute (INDMO), and the Human Capital Development Fund (FDCH).