On 5 June 2025, Mrs. Arunee Hiam, Deputy Director-General of Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) accompanied a parliamentarian delegation comprising of Ms. Piyarat Tiyapairat and Mr. Taopiphop Limjittrakorn, members of the House of Representatives, to Timor-Leste for a seminar titled “ASEAN”. The exchange of MPs, upon invitation from H.E. Ms. Maria Fernanda Lay, President of the National Parliament of Timor-Leste, is a part of Triangular Cooperation between TICA and ITC.

Ms. Piyarat and Mr. Taopiphop exchanged experiences with over 100 Timor-Leste MPs during the seminar under the theme : The roles of Parliament in advancing ASEAN cooperation and Parliamentary Engagement in ASEAN – Lessons from Thailand. The seminar aimed at boosting capacity of Timor-Leste parliamentarians in preparation for the country’s accession to ASEAN as the 11^th Member State in accordance with the Chairman’s Statement of the 46^th ASEAN Summit on 26^th May 2025 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Deputy Director-General reaffirmed commitment of TICA, as a focal point for Thailand’s development cooperation, to building capacity of Timor-Leste, through partnership with ITC. In this regard, Timor-Leste’s parliamentarians commended an active role played by Thailand and ITC which will contribute to Timor-Leste’s implementation of the Roadmap, leading to its upcoming integration into ASEAN.