On 18 February 2026, Ms. Arunee Heim, Deputy Director-General of Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), attended the opening and handover ceremony of the Green Energy for Elephants and Community Project at the National Elephant Institute under Royal Patronage, Lampang Province.  Also in attendance were Mr. Mehmed Sulku, Senior Expert, and Mr. Onur Ozturk from the Turkish International Cooperation Agency (TIKA), along with Dr. Taweepok Angkwanich, Acting Director of the National Elephant Institute, relevant officers, and community representatives.

The project is an activity under the technical cooperation between Thailand-Türkiye. It aims to promote the use of green energy and zero waste management through the installation of solar panels for water management within the Institute and four nearby communities. The project successfully achieved its goals, namely: (1) reducing expenses and increasing agricultural productivity, (2) promoting awareness on the use of green energy, (3) preventing food shortage for elephants and (4) increasing villagers’ income from selling grass for elephants to the institute.

On this occasion, both sides also discussed about the cooperation this year as well as ways to expand the project and support other activities of the National Elephant Institute.