On 6 September 2019, H.E. Mrs. Busaya Mathelin, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, together with H.E. Mr. Danai Karnpoj, Ambassador of Thailand to Timor-Leste, and Ms. Pattarat Hongtong, Director-General of Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), led a team of Thai officials concerned to visit Escola Basica Filial Acanuno (Kindergarten-Primary School) and Escola Basica Central Hera (Primary-Secondary School) in Timor-Leste on the occasion of the ASEAN Political-Security Community (APSC) Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) to Timor-Leste. These schools are among the four existing schools under the Royal support of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn to promote education, health, sanitary, nutrition and learning capability for children in Timor-Leste since 2014. 

 

In addition, the Thai delegation met with sufficiency economy role model farmers and visited the Sufficiency Learning Center in Hera Sub-District near Dili where TICA had initiated the application of sufficiency economy philosophy as a means to promote sustainable development for Timor-Leste both bilaterally (2010 – 2015) and trilaterally under the Sufficiency Economy and Business Promotion in the Agricultural Sector Project between Thailand – Germany (GIZ) – Timor-Leste (2016 – 2017). These efforts aim to help improve the capability of Timorese agriculturists and farmers as well as to establish a sustainable model village based on the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy. Various activities carried out and promoted by the SEP model farmers and the Learning Center include the growing of multiple crops, production and use of organic fertilizer, organic animal feeds, aquaculture, and value-added production for Timorese farmers. 

 

Thailand and Timor-Leste signed the MOU on Economic and Technical Cooperation in 2003 reflecting Thailand’s determination to help Timor-Leste’s development in various fields, particularly agriculture where Sufficiency Economy Philosophy has been offered as a means to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. At present, Thailand and Timor-Leste are preparing the 3rd Three-Year Development Cooperation Program in three major fields, namely agriculture, education, and health. In this connection, the Director-General of TICA also held various consultation meetings with high-level Timorese officers including the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries of Timor-Leste and the Director-General of Policy, Planning and Cooperation, Ministry of Education and Sports of Timor-Leste. The Director-General of TICA also met with representatives of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and World Health Organization (WHO) to discuss ways to further promote international development cooperation to assist Timor-Leste toward the path of sustainable development.