On 3 April 2023, Mrs. Ureerat Chareontoh, Director-General of Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), was invited to participate in the Commemoration of the 60^th Anniversary of Peace Corps Thailand and the Swearing-in ceremony of the 134^th group of Peace Corps Volunteers in Suphanburi Province.

The ceremonies were hosted by Mr. Sonny Luu, Country Director of Peace Corps Thailand. Also in attendance are Mr. Robert F. Godec, U.S. Ambassador to Thailand, Mrs. Carol Spahn, Peace Corps Director, Mr. Watcharadet Kiatchanon, Deputy Governor of Suphanburi Province, and the representatives from the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC), the Department of Local Administration (DLA), primary schools under OBEC and local government agencies under DLA.

The Commemoration marked a significant milestone in the Thai-US partnership under the Peace Corps Program in Thailand over the past sixty years. The Peace Corps Volunteers have played an important role in supporting the capacity building of Thai institutions and officials in various key sectors which met the country’s development priorities at the time, such as community development, public health, agriculture, education and youth development. The Peace Corps Program has greatly contributed to strengthening Thai-U.S. bilateral relations.

After the Swearing-in Ceremony, Ambassador Robert F. Godec handed over the 49 Peace Corps Volunteers, through Director-General Ureerat Chareontoh, to the representatives of OBEC and DLA. 27 of them will work under the Teacher Empowerment for Student Success (TESS) Program and 22 under the Youth in Development (YinD) Program.  Their term of service is two years.

The 134^th group of Peace Corps Volunteers is the first batch to resume their activities in Thailand after Peace Corps suspended its activities across the world over the past three years following the COVID-19 outbreak.