On 25 May 2566, Mrs. Arunee Hiam, Deputy Director-General of Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), had a meeting with Dr. Jos Vandelaer, WHO Representative to Thailand, and representatives from the Ministry of Public Health. The meeting discussed the implementation of the “Enhancing Leadership in Global Health (ELGH)” project, which is one of the three projects under the South-South and trilateral cooperation between TICA and UN Agencies, that was launched on 27 March 2023 during the 2023 Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) at the UNCC, Bangkok. Ms. Chidchanok Malayawong, Director of Development Promotion and Coordination Division, including WHO and TICA staff also attended the meeting at TICA.

WHO representative expressed gratitude to TICA for giving an opportunity to exchange ideas and further develop partnership cooperation between both sides. He also commended Thailand for its efficient work in the field of public health and elaborated more details on the ELGH project, which aims to promote and enhance the capacity of healthcare personnel in Thailand and other countries in the region for global health leaderships. The project also aims to prepare member countries’ participation in the annual Global Health Assembly (GHA).

Deputy Director-General thanked the WHO representative for his valuable information and expressed readiness to collaborate with WHO, the Ministry of Public Health, and development partners from various countries in driving the ELGH project forward. She also emphasized the importance of building a strong and elevated networks in the region to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals.