The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the UNESCAP and UN Procurement Division, organised a seminar on “Business Opportunities with the United Nations” for the Thai private sector on UN procurement to introduce potential new markets to the Thai private sector as part of an effort to help lessen the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and revive Thai economy amidst the challenges and opportunities brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

 

On 17 July 2020, the Department of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in Bangkok and United Nations Procurement Division (UNPD) in New York, organised a seminar on “Business Opportunities with the United Nations”. The seminar was presided by H.E. Mr. Soonthorn Chaiyindeepum, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. More than 150 participants attended the seminar at Vithes Samosorn, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and via Facebook live of the Ministry’s Saranrom Radio channel.

 

The seminar is an initiative of the Ministry to support efforts in reviving the Thai economy amidst the challenges and opportunities brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, and introduce potential new markets to the Thai private sector. The objective of the seminar is to enhance the capacity and competitiveness of the Thai private sector in working and doing business with the United Nations (UN) by providing information on the UN procurement process, facilitating vendor registration procedures as well as offering an opportunity for the private sector to dialogue with relevant UN procurement officials.

 

In 2019, UN organisations procured 19.9 billion US dollars worth of goods and services worldwide, an increase of 5.9 per cent, or 1.1 billion US dollars, compared to 2018. Procurement volumes from suppliers in Thailand accounted for 85 million US dollars and the main categories of procurement included - (1) management and administrative services, (2) travel, food and lodging, (3) transportation, storage and mail services, and (4) building and maintenance services. At the seminar, the speaker from UNESCAP highlighted the current Seismic Mitigation Project (SMP) involving seismic mitigation retrofit and life-cycle replacements for the UN buildings in Bangkok and invited relevant Thai private sector businesses to participate in the tender process.

 

This seminar is among the many activities the Ministry of Foreign Affairs organised to help lessen the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic by opening up new avenues for Thai suppliers.