Background

             Ministry of Foreign Affairs was assigned to be the coordinator for Goal 3 : smart and sustainable ACMECS of ACMECS Master Plan (2019-2023) and the main agency responsible for  human resource development, sustainable and innovative development under ACMECS.  Within ACMECS, Thailand is a donor country.  TICA and the National Economic Development Agency (NEDA) are the two main agencies that undertake development cooperation in infrastructure and technical cooperation.  The main goal is to develop border areas within ACMECS, which would reduce poverty and development gap in the region and pave way to further investment along the borders and among the neighboring countries.

             Details

             Goal 3 : Smart and sustainable ACMECS comprises of

             (1) Human Resource Development and Application of Modern Technology (Smart Entrepreneur i.e. SMEs, Startups, Smart Agriculture, Smart Tourism, Smart Medical Services, Smart Education, Smart Cities, Cyber Security)

             (2) Environmental Cooperation

             - Natural Resources Conservation

             - Water Resource Management

             - Climate Change

             - Disaster Risk Management

             - Energy Efficiency and Promotion of Renewable Energy

             (3) Sustainable agriculture

             (4) Tourism

             (5) Health

Bilateral grants

             Royal Thai Government Scholarship: UTCC-ASEAN ACMECS Partial Grant at the post-graduate level

             During the 5^th ACMECS Summit in March 2013, Thailand announced that it would allocate 4 grants each year from 2014 to 2015  (total of 32 grants) to each member countries (Laos PDR, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Vietnam)  to develop human resources in the private sector.  The grants enabled post-graduate students to study in Global MBA Program by University of Thai Chamber of Commerce at 50% of the tuition and TICA would finance some other cost.???           

             MBA Offshore Program

             From 2013 to 2015, University of Thai Chamber of Commerce and TICA gave 6 post-graduate grants per year for Myanmar officials from ministry of commerce, ministry of industry, and ministry of defense, to complete a 2-year thesis writing or independent study.  Three officials can pursue their program from Yangon, and three others can pursue their program from Mandalay.  The Offshore program is an initiative between TICA, Thai Chamber of Commerce, and Myanmar Chamber of Commerce, as part of the public and private partnership (PPP.)  The University of Thai Chamber of Commerce is responsible for the application and selection process, and TICA covers tuition and other fees up to 10,500 USD per person.

             The offshore program was extended in 2017 to finance 6 officials per year from 2017-2019 under the same condition.

             “Sasin-Royal Thai Government Scholarship” MBA Program under ACMECS

             TICA and Sasin MBA School of Chulalongkorn University offered up to 8 scholarships per year in 2015-2016 for students from Cambodia, Laos PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam.  Sasin MBA School supported full tuition for the 3-year program, and TICA supported room and board for the whole program.  From April 2015 to December 2016, there were 2 scholars from Myanmar and 2 scholars from Cambodia.  Total value of the program was 1,405,932 baht.

             Annual International Training Course (AITC)

             2017

             Integration of Sufficiency Economy for Empowerment on Mobilizing Sustainable Development from Naresuan University.  The course gave priority for enrollment to students from Lower Mekong Sub-region Member Countries.

             Green Freight and Logistics Development from Mekong Institute.  The course gave priority to students from Greater Mekong Subregion Economic

             Sufficiency Economy- From Theory and Practices to Standardization from Mae Fah Luang University.  The course gave priority to students from ACMECS Member Countries.

             2018

             Postharvest Technology and Management for Reducing Loses of Agricultural Commodities from King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi for students from CLMV countries.

             Community - based Microcredit and Sufficiency Economy Development from the Community Development Department, Ministry of Interior, which gave priority to students from ACMECS Member Countries.

             Promoting Livelihood and Food Security through Diversified Farming Practices using Integrated System and Participatory Approaches from Chiang Mai University.  The course gave priority to students from ACMECS Member Countries.

             Green Freight and Logistics Development from the Mekong Institute.  The course gave priority to students from ACMECS and BIMSTEC Member Countries.

             Sufficiency Economy Philosophy: Tool for Sustainable Rural Development from Maejo University.  The course was designed for students from CLMV countries.

             2019

             Train the Trainer: Food Safety Management from the National Food Institute, Ministry of Industry, with priority for students from CLMV countries.

             Sufficiency Economy Philosophy: Tool for Sustainable Rural Development from Maejo University.  The course gave priority to students from CLMV countries.

             2020

             Early Childhood Health Promotion and Health Care Management from Songkla University.  The course gave priority to students from Myanmar.

             Community Empowerment to Strengthen Maternal and Neonatal Health Care from Chiang Mai University.  The course gave priority to students from Myanmar.

Cooperation with Partner Countries for Development

             Partner countries can support ACMECS in 3 ways:

             (1) Support individual project within ACMECS master plan

             (2) Set up individual country fund

             (3) Contribute to ACMECS Fund

Related actions by Thailand

             ACMECS Areas of Cooperation with development partners have expressed interest in 

             Australia has expressed interest in Quality Infrastructure, Economic Governance, Water & Renewable Energy, Cross-cutting, and Institutional Strengthening (Mekong Policy Dialogue.)

             China has expressed interest in Connectivity, Production Capacity, and Water Resource Management.

             Japan has expressed interest in Quality Infrastructure, HRD, and Sustainable Development.

             India has expressed interest in Digital Connectivity, Science & Technology, and Digital Economy & Fin Tech.

             South Korea has expressed interest in ICT, HRD, and Water Resource Management.

             The US has expressed interest in Digital & Energy Security, Education & HRD, and Water Resource Management.