On 27 November 2024, Mr. Paisan Rupanichkij, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, met with Mr. OBA Yuichi, Senior Vice President of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), during the 6th Asia-Pacific Directors General (APDG) Forum for South-South and Triangular Cooperation held on 27 - 28 November 2024 at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok. 

The Deputy Permanent Secretary acknowledged the long-standing technical cooperation between both sides, marking its 70th anniversary this year. He highlighted Japan’s contribution through Official Development Assistance (ODA), which contributes to the country’s rapid socio-economic growth through development in infrastructure, human resources, and public health. Notably, Japan recently extended Grant Assistance through “The Programme for COVID-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support,” providing medical equipment to strengthen Thailand’s capability to combat COVID-19, which will be beneficial to public health work in the border areas of Thailand and neighboring countries.  He hoped that Japan will support the continuation of tangible activities from this APDG meeting, which focuses on sustainable urban development in the Asia-Pacific region.  On this occasion, the Deputy Permanent Secretary invited the JICA President to visit Thailand as a guest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in early 2025.

JICA Senior Vice President commended Thailand's active role, which has contributed to the success of cooperation, and appreciated Thailand's initiative to send Thai volunteers under the Friend From Thailand (FFT) Programme to contribute in promoting community tourism in Japan.

Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to a continued partnership to achieve sustainable development together in the Mekong Sub-region and ASEAN, as well as other regions such as Africa.