On 14 September 2022, Mrs. Ureerat Chareontoh, Director General of Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), along with Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General of United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia-the Pacific (ESCAP) and Mr. Naoki Ando, Chief Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) gave the opening remarks for the 13th “South-South Cooperation Directors General Forum for Sustainable Development (Global DG Forum)” during the GSSD Expo 2022, which is co-hosted by Thailand, ESCAP, and UNOSSC at UNCC, Bangkok.

The Global DG Forum is an annual meeting for executives and organizations promoting international development cooperation. The Forum’s objectives were to discuss and exchange views on impacts and best practices, including areas of cooperation during Covid-19 pandemic. The participants discussed a wide range of issues, of which the environment, climate change, cooperation enhancement, and innovative technology for sustainable development were largely discussed during the Forum.

The Forum was consisted of four sessions namely (1) Strengthening SSC/TrC Institutional Capacity and Ecosystem for Resilient and Sustainable Future (2) SSC/TrC Financing Mechanism (3) The Role and Efforts of the United Nations System in Building Capacities Needed for SSC/TrC (4) Multi-stakeholders’ Engagement and Coordination for SSC/TrC Way forward.

On this occasion, Dr. Sudarat Damrongwatanapoki, Advisor to Office of International Cooperation, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health of Thailand, and to Southeast Asia One Health University Network, one of the panelists, presented about Thailand’s development cooperation projects on public health during the Covid-19 pandemic. The speaker highlighted the importance of inclusive participation of all sectors, including public, private, civil society in the fight against the pandemic.

During the closing session, Mr. Wattanawit Gajaseni, Deputy Director – General gave the closing remarks on behalf of Thailand International Cooperation Agency along with Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana Under-Secretary-General of United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCAP and Ms. Xiaojun Grace Wang, Head of the Delegation of the UNOSSC.