On 23 March 2021, Mrs. Arunee Hiam, Director of Partnership for Development Bureau, Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA) participated as a panelist at the side event during the 8th Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD) under the topic “Transformative Models to Build Back Better: Thailand’s approach to a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable COVID recovery,” organized by the Department of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand via teleconference. Also attended the side event were officers from the Partnership for Development Bureau and the SEP and Development Unit of TICA.
During the side event, TICA presented the modalities, strategy, best practices and concrete examples on how the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) could be applied in fostering the socio-economic recovery in the New Normal era and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, through development cooperation projects, technical assistance and human resources development projects—undertaken in conjunction with partner countries. These various projects have been instrumental in assisting partner countries to recover and “build back better”, while ensuring the continuity and robustness of international partnerships for sustainable development, in line with SDG17 and in light of the global pandemic.
Building on these undertakings, TICA expressed its firm belief that the application of SEP in sustainable development would enable communities and partner countries to achieve a resilient, inclusive and sustainable recovery that equips them with the ability to withstand future challenges and uncertainties. At the same time, SEP will also serve as a development tool and thinking framework for sustainable development that coincide with context of the present world, where disruptive and unexpected changes are becoming more common. With this in mind, the sustainable development through the application of SEP would contribute to the accelerated global effort towards the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development during the Decade of Action.
The side event can be accessed via