On 10 August 2023, Ms. Kyungsun Kim, UNICEF Representative in Thailand, Ms. Ilaria Favero, Chief of Adolescent Development and Participation, and Ms. Yoonhee Jeong, Partnerships Specialist, paid a courtesy call on Mrs. Ureerat Chareontoh, Director-General of Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) at TICA Meeting Room 2.  Also present at the said meeting were Ms. Chidchanok Malayawong, Director of Development Promotion and Coordination Division, as well as relevant TICA officials.

Both sides discussed ways to promote development cooperation between the two agencies. The Director-General highlighted TICA’s development policy which focused on human  security in four aspects namely Food, Health, Job, and Energy and Environmental, as well as an application of the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) to assist development partners in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SEP for SDGs). The UNICEF representative in Thailand also laid out UNICEF’s five key areas of works for the children in Thailand including
(1) Early Childhood Development, (2) Education, (3) Young People’s Resilience, Connectedness and Empowerment, (4) Child Protection, and (5) Social Policy.

Regarding the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Thailand 2022 to 2026, the Director-General of TICA proposed a triangular cooperation between the two agencies by building on UNICEF’s works for the children in Mekong subregion and other Asian countries such as Bhutan and Timor-Leste, likewise TICA’s and UNFPA’s recent initiatives to improve midwifery care services for Timor-Leste. Possible cooperation with the Asia-Pacific Development Center on Disability (APCD) for children and women with disabilities, neurodiversity and sexual diversity, was also addressed.

The UNICEF Representative suggested to re-organize a joint training or workshop on elimination of Mother-to-Child transmission, as well as to conduct new topics such as vocational training for the unemployed youth.   

The UNICEF Representative in Thailand agreed with the Director-General’s suggestion to draft a three-year joint work plan (2024 – 2026) between TICA and UNICEF, along the same line with what TICA has done with other UN agencies. She also explained UNICEF’s current work on compiling data on Thailand’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) given to UNICEF, which in the past year alone has totaled more than USD 500,000 when taking both in-kind and in-cash contributions. UNICEF stands ready to share such information for Thailand’s statistical compilation.