On 23 January 2024, Mrs. Ureerat Chareontoh, former Director-General of Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), delivered opening remarks at the virtual opening ceremony of the trilateral cooperation project on Transboundary Air Quality Management, which is one of the flagship projects under the framework of TICA - USAID Strategic Partnership for Asia.

On this occasion, Mr. Steven G. Olive, Mission Director, United States Agency for International Development, Regional Development Mission for Asia (USAID/RDMA), together with Ms. Preeyaporn Suwanaged, Director-General of Thailand’s Pollution Control Department, and Mr. Lonkham Atsanavong, Director-General of Natural Resources and Environment Research Institute (NRERI), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) of Lao PDR, also took this opportunity to give their addresses to jointly demonstrate the commitment of all parties involved in the project implementation.

The trilateral cooperation project on Transboundary Air Quality Management aims to deliver technical assistance to the relevant agencies of Lao PDR to strengthen their capacity in air quality management with long-term resilience. To this end, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) and Thailand’s Pollution Control Department, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, will serve as the co-implementing agencies. Meanwhile, NRERI under Laos MoNRE will serve as the coordinating agency for the project implementation throughout the duration of cooperation (2024 - 2026), covering several activities such as training, site visits, consultations and the development of pilot applications for air quality monitoring.

Besides the opening session, the virtual ceremony of the trilateral cooperation project on Transboundary Air Quality Management provided an opportunity for the relevant agencies in charge of air quality management both in Thailand and Lao PDR to exchange information, policies and measures, as well as recommendations to tackle transboundary air pollution issues. In this regard, the former Director-General of TICA emphasized the significance of international cooperation on air quality management to mitigate the socio-economic, health and environmental impacts in a sustainable manner.

Also in her opening remarks, she expressed confidence that the implementation of the trilateral cooperation project on Transboundary Air Quality Management will play an ever-important role in complementing the Government of Thailand’s efforts through the so-called “Clear Sky Strategy,” in collaboration with Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar, to foster regional cooperation on cross-border air quality management.