On 5 September 2019, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand organised the meeting of the Open-ended Working Group for Sustainable Development Goals (OEWG for SDGs). The OEWG aimed to serve as a platform for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to raise relevant issues and allow government agencies to share, discuss, and exchange ideas. Approximately 70 representatives from the public sector, academia, and the Civil Society attended the meeting.

 

The meeting was an interactive dialogue between CSOs and the government on working towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 4 (Education), SDG 5 (Gender equality), and SDG 13 (Climate change). The meeting discussed in depth (1) the role of women and climate change and (2) education for all small-sized schools in local communities. Moreover, the OEWG attendees were informed of the results of the 2019 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), attended by the Thai Delegation. The meeting was also infromed of the preparations for the SDG Summit, to be held under the auspices of the 74th General Assembly of the United Nations, during 24 – 25 September 2019.

 

As coordinator for SDG 17 (Means of Implementation and Global Partnership) and Chair of the Working Group on Voluntary National Review (VNR) of Thailand, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is determined to work with CSOs to move Thailand towards the realisation of the SDGs through the OEWG for SDGs platform, which has been organised by the Ministry since 2018.