On 26 August, 2022 Mr. Wattanawit Gajaseni, Deputy Director-General of Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), participated in the closing ceremony of Thailand Sport Leaders Programme (Class 13th) at the Grand Fourwings Convention Hotel, Bangkok. Mr. Prachoom Boontiam, Deputy Governor for Elite Sports and Sports Science, Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) and Mr. Steven Potts, Director of Industry Pathway, World Academy of Sport (WaoS) also attended the closing ceremony.

Thailand Sport Leaders Programme (TSLP) is a training course co-organized by Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) and World Academy of Sport (WaoS). The purpose of TSLP is to develop and advance Thai sport leaders to have knowledge and understanding for managing their sports’ administrative capacity in both of theoretical and practical.

The Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), Thai implementing agency of the project on Capacity Building for Sport Sciences on High Performance Sport (Elite Sport) Development for Laos PDR, supported 5 representatives from Department of Elite Sports, Ministry of Education and Sports, Lao implementing agency, to participate TSLP course.

The purpose of project on Capacity Building for Sport Sciences on High Performance Sport (Elite Sport) Development for Lao PDR under Thailand – Laos Three-Year Development Cooperation Programme (2020-2022) is to develop all stakeholders of Lao elite sport sectors such as sport personnel, athlete, and administrative system of Laos’s elite sport into international level. This project has targeted to 7 sports, namely Sepak-Takraw, Athletics, Judo, Cycling, Taekwondo, Boxing, and Weightlifting. Currently the activities under the project had been already held, for example, boxing referee’s training for 1-star level, Taekwondo referee’s basic training, weightlifting coach’s training, and also TSLP programme.

On this occasion, Deputy Director-General of TICA also gave an interview to TSPORTS 7 channel, television station, about TICA’s missions which have duties to enhance relations between Thailand and other countries through international development cooperation, especially with nebouring countries. The Elite Sport development project has been counted as a significant project of development cooperation under the sector of human resource development which is the heart of development cooperation towards sustainable development. Moreover, having Lao representatives to attend TSLP programme will strengthen people-people and countries relations between Thailand and Lao PDR closely.

Furthermore, after the closing ceremony, both sides (Thai and Lao sides) held the meeting to discuss about details and activities under the elite sport development project
next year.