On 27 December 2022, Mrs. Ureerat Chareontoh, Director-General of Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), and Mr. Sonny Luu, Country Director of Peace Corps Thailand, signed the second Exchange of Letters to renew the Teacher Empowerment for Student Success (TESS) Program and the Youth in Development (YinD) Program for another five years from 2023-2027. After the signing ceremony, Director-General Ureerat Chareontoh presented to Mr. Sonny Luu a check of the Royal Thai Government’s annual contribution to Peace Corps Thailand. This annual contribution demonstrates Thailand’s firm commitment to the enduring Thai-US partnership in Peace Corps Volunteers Program since 1961. Also present at the event were representatives from the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) and the Department of Local Administration.

TICA and Peace Corps Thailand launched TESS and YinD programs in 2008 under the first Exchange of Letters, effective from 2018-2022, with OBEC and the Department of Local Administration as the implementing agencies. Both programs have provided Thai youths in rural communities with a great opportunity to learn English from native English speakers and develop life skills, leadership and the spirit of volunteerism. Furthermore, Thai teachers from schools involved under OBEC and provincial officials from the Department of Local Administration have also benefitted from these programs.

Before the signing ceremony, both sides discussed the upcoming celebration of the 60^th anniversary of the Peace Corps Volunteer Program in Thailand next year and the resumption of Peace Corps Volunteers Program after suspension caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. The first batch of Peace Corps Volunteers is expected to arrive in mid-January 2023. They also exchanged experiences regarding the implementation of the Peace Corps Volunteer program and TICA’s Friends from Thailand (FFT) program.