3. Other Mechanisms

 

            Other mechanisms that TICA has formulated to extend Thailand’s best expertise and experiences in responding to all of our partners’ needs on human resources development, are different forms of annual training programmes, namely Thai International Postgraduate Programme (TIPP), Annual International Training Courses (AITC), and Annual Training Courses under the Trilateral Cooperation Programme (organised jointly with donors or international organisations such as JICA, the Colombo Plan Secretariat, UNDP, UNFPA, and UNICEF).

 

            Under these programmes, fellowships for postgraduate’s degree or training courses  in the fields of, for example, agriculture, public health,   education, business, economics, engineering, information technology, infrastructure and public utilities, labour and employment, natural resources and  environment, social development and welfare, trade and investment, and tourism, have been offered. It has been beneficial to more than 50 countries in  South    Asia (such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal,

 

 Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka), the Middle-East (such as Iran, Iraq, Jordan, and Oman),   CIS (such as Kazakhstan, Tajikistan,and Uzbekistan), Africa (such as Burkina Faso, Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda), Latin America (FEALAC Member States), the

 

Caribbean (CARICOM Member States), the Colombo Plan Member Countries and the members of the Organisation of American States.   

 

ACMECS

 

           ACMECS initiative has been raised and established by the idea of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at the special ASEAN Summit on SARS, held in Bangkok on 29 April 2003, and was then called the “Economic Cooperation Strategy, with leaders of Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar.

 

            At the Summit meeting on 12 November 2003 in Bagan, Myanmar, Leaders of Cambodia, Lao PDR, the Union of Myanmar and Thailand met for the first time and adopted the Bagan Declaration, affirming their commitment to cooperate in five time priority areas of cooperation (which are Agricultural and Industrial Cooperation, Trade and Investment Facilitation, Tourism Cooperation, Transport Linkages and Human Resources Development). They endorsed the Economic Cooperation Strategy Plan of Action , under which 46 common projects and 224 bilateral projects were listed for implementation over the next ten years. The leaders agreed to call this newly created economic cooperation framework the “ Ayeyawady-Chao Phraya –Mekong Economic Cooperation Strategy “(ACMECS), name after the major rivers of continental Southeast Asia.

 

        On 10 May 2004, Vietnam has joined the group resulting in having 5 member countries in ACMECS since then. The emphasis of ACMECS is on using self-help and partnership to achieve sustainable development, including poverty reduction, in line with the UN Millennium Development Goals.

 

          The objectives of the new cooperation framework are to bridge the economic gap among the four countries, and to promote prosperity in the sub-region in a sustainable manner. Such prosperity will not only benefit the four countries, but also add value to ASEAN and its solidarity. Stronger Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Thailand will also mean stronger ASEAN . It is in this way thatit will act as a building block and move ASEAN forward at a more even pace, on the basis of self-reliance and shared prosperity.

Thailand International Development Cooperation Agency’s Role

 

         The Department of Technical and Economic Cooperation : DTEC (now Thailand International Development Cooperation Agency : TICA) was assigned by the former Prime Minister Thaksin on November 20, 2003 to be the focal agency for the Human Resources Development Sector under ACMECS. Taking into consideration that ACMECS activities should be complementary to and enhancing the existing bilateral and regional economic cooperation and acceptable to the countries concerned, TICA has reached the third year of implementing activities for regional cooperation which is supplement and complement bilateral frameworks with a view to provide common benefits and comparative advantages of each country. Progress has been achieved in terms of implementing human resource development activities under TICA’s responsibility as follows:

 

          Completed Activities under ACMECS Framework during the year 2005 – 2006 Fellowships

 

                    1.      4 Scholarships for Master and Post doctoral Degree Program in Thai Universities

 

                    2.      Analysis of Food and Drinking Water

 

                    3.      Basic Analysis of Water Pollution for Science Lecturers

 

                    4.      Tourism Planning, Marketing and Promotion

 

                    5.      Tourism Information Technology

 

                    6.      Project Management , Monitoring and Evaluation

 

                    7.      Management and Administration

 

                    8.      Development Planning and Policy Formulation

 

                    9.      Human Resource Management

 

                    10.   English Communication Skills (Upper Intermediate)

 

                    11.  Promotion and Development of SME in Agro-Industry

 

                    12.  Tourism Planning, Resource Development and Management

 

                    13.  Highland Agricultural Research and Development Center

 

                    14.  Planting, Developing System of Plant Protection, Production and OVOP Activities

 

                    15.  Training and Study Visit about OTOP

 

                    16.  Information Technology Management

 

                    17.  System in personnel and Database Management in Public Sector

 

                    18.  World Heritage Management

 

                    19.  The Industrial Estate and Competitive Advantage in the Globalization

 

                    20.  GSP and International Trade Practice

 

                    21.  Hotel / Accommodation Management

 

                    22.  Tourist Police

 

Research

 

       Impact Study on Thailand Assistance to Neighboring Countries

 

On-going Activities under ACMECS Framework

 

                    1.      28 Scholarships for Master/Ph.D. Degree Program in Thai Universities

 

                    2.      4 Scholarships for Bachelor/Master Degree Program in Business Administration from private sector

 

                    3.      The Combating of Avian Influenza and other Infectious Diseases

 

                    4.      Filing of Tourist Information and Advertising of Tourist Diseases

 

                    5.      Fruit Tree Development Center in the Northern Provinces of Cambodia

 

                    6.      The Establishment of the Center of Excellence in Siem Reap

 

                    7.      Human Resource Development for Medical Personnel of Hospitals in Koh Kong andBanteay Meanchey Provinces

 

                    8.      Dispatch Expert on Agricultural Development Planning

 

                    9.      The development of Savannakhet Technical School

 

                    10.   Scholarship for study Bachelor Degree at KamphaengPhet Rajabhat University implemented by Tak Province

 

GMS

 

       The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) economic cooperation has been initiated since 1992 with the aims to promote development through closer economic linkages with its commitment to a vision of creating prosperous and equitable share in the countries of the subregion. The GMS program, with support from ADB and other donors, helps the implementation of high priority subregional projects in transport, energy, telecommunications, environment and natural resources management, human resource development, tourism, trade and agriculture. Among these substantial progress has been achieved in priority infrastructure projects.

 

        A 10 year strategic framework, founded on a common vision, goals and strategic thrusts for the GMS Program’s regional cooperation, was formulated by the six countries with the assistance of ADB in 2001. This strategic framework was endorsed by the six GMS Leaders at their first Summit held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in November 2002. It envisions a well-integrated and prosperous Mekong subregion – free of poverty and committed to protecting the environment that is vital to the subregion’s future  wellbeing. The framework focuses on five development thrusts to achieve this goal :

 

                    1. strengthen infrastructure linkages through a multisectoral approach

 

                    2. facilitate cross-border trade and investment

 

                    3. enhance private sector participation in development and improve its competitiveness

 

                    4. develop human resources and skill competencies

 

                    5. protect the environment and promote sustainable use of the subregion’s shared natural resources.

 

Thailand International Development Cooperation Agency’s Role

 

      Since Human Resource Development is one of the strategy, the Subregional Working Group on Human Resource Development (WGHRD) was established, under the Regional Technical Assistance Program to the Asian Development Bank, as an informal forum that will promote and facilitate cooperation in human resource developmentamong the Governments of Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China, Lao people’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The WGHRD is expected to facilitate the implementation of priority subregional HRD project and to contribute to strengthening HRD in other sectors. In development of human resources, corresponding various elements are needed to complementary software such as facilitating trade and investment, the movement of goods and people across borders, and strengthening capacities. To ensure the competency of human resources, the Thailand International Development Cooperation Agency (TICA) was designated by the National Committee on Neighbouring Countries Development Cooperation to be the focal agency for the Human Resources Development Sector which were identified by the WGHRD namely labour, education and public health fields in GMS cooperation framework. With an aim to help other developing countries to achieve sustainable economic and social development, The Department of Technical and Economic Cooperation : DTEC (now Thailand International Development Cooperation Agency : TICA) has provided development cooperation to countries in the GMS subregion since 1992 under both bilateral and trilateral cooperation while under the GMS economic cooperation programme, TICA’s representatives participated in seven sessions of the WGHRD and has provided the training course on Social Security System in 2006

 

Malaysia

 

         Thailand enjoys sharing the development experiences with Malaysia under the bilateral technical cooperation framework particularly in the area of Human Resources Development. The meeting  on ‘Technical Cooperation between Thailand – Malaysia’ is organized regularly between the national focal points of  both countries, which are TICA and EPU (Economic Planning Unit), to provide an opportunity for both Malaysia and Thailand to review and expand the scope of cooperation.

 

Indonesia

 

          Thailand has provided technical cooperation to Indonesia under the Thai International Cooperation Programme, namely, bilateral development projects; the Cooperation of Nursing Programme Development of the University of Sumatera Utara and Thai Language and Culture Courses for University of Indonesia (UI), Annual International Training Course (AITC), Thai International Postgraduate Programme (TIPP) and Third Country Training Programme (TCTP).

 

Timor-Leste (East Timor)

 

         Thailand and Timor-leste signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Economic and Technical Cooperation on 7 August 2003 in which Thailand committed to provide technical assistance under the 3 year Technical Cooperation Plan to Timor Leste (2003 – 2005). Activities comprise training courses, dispatching Thai experts and study visits in 10 areas, namely, Agriculture, Primary Health Care, Fishery, Banking, Insurance and Investment, Tourism, Energy, Capacity building on the Negotiations of maritime boundary delimitation, Capacity building on National Security, Geographic Information System (GIS) and Sufficiency Economy.

 

        In order to complete all activities under the 3 year Plan, both sides agreed to extend the duration of MoU for another 2 years (2006-2007). However, TICA has, currently, suspended technical cooperation activities to Timor Leste due to the conflict there.

 

Pacific Island countries

 

          Thailand has recently embarked on cooperation projects with Pacific Island Countries under the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) in the areas of agriculture, public health and tourism in the forms of development projects, fellowships for training courses, study visit and technical experts.

 

Thailand-Malaysia Joint Development Strategy for Border Areas : JDS

 

         TICA has been assigned as the national focal point in HRD sector for Thailand-Malaysia Joint Development Strategy for Border Areas cooperation framework (JDS). The start of the skills development training programme in January 2007, offered to Thai youths by Malaysia’s GIATMARA, demonstrates the two countries’ commitment and efforts in joint development. This tangible cooperation will improve the living standards of people in the border areas of both countries and contribute toward the economic betterment of Thailand’s Southern provinces and Malaysia’s Northern provinces.

 

Indonesis-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle : IMT-GT

 

       In the second summit of Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT), the Meeting adopted the IMT-GT Roadmap for Development 2007-2011 and endorsed the Vision of the IMT-GT Roadmap for ‘ a seamless, progressive, prosperous and peaceful sub-region with improved quality of life. The Roadmap for Development 2007-2011 provides a framework as well as a plan of action in which TICA is appointed as the national focal point in HRD sector in order to promote the cooperation in HRD programme as well as to upgrade the quality of the labour force, enhance their competitiveness and improve the efficiency of labour markets in the IMT-GT region.