On 18 December 2013, Mr. Sihasak Phuangketkeow, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand, had bilateral discussions with Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand. 

Under-Secretary-General of the UN and Permanent Secretary discussed ways and means to further promote cooperation between Thailand and the United Nations, especially with Dr. Heyzer’s new role as Special Advisor of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Timor-Leste. Both sides explored avenues to enhance the existing close cooperation between the ESCAP and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the preparation for the forthcoming 70th  session of the ESCAP Commission, to be held from 19-23 May 2014 at  the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) in Bangkok under the theme of “Regional Connectivity for Shared Prosperity”.