Thailand, as Chair of the Group of 77 (G-77) in New York, will host a High-Level Panel of Eminent Personalities of the South on South-South Cooperation between 9 – 10 March 2016. H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha, the Prime Minister will preside over this High-Level Panel on 9 March 2016 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Panel was established by a mandate from the Second South Summit, held in Doha, Qatar in 2005, as a forum to provide a framework of development options to support the participation and integration of developing countries into the global economy and the globalization process. Previously, five sessions of the High-Level Panel had been convened, the last one was held in Algiers, Algeria, in 2014.

Eminent personalities, which include heads and former heads of international organizations (e.g. UNCTAD and ESCAP), former ministers, ambassadors and permanent representatives from New York, and chairs of G-77 from all chapters, will attend this meeting to brainstorm on the architecture of South-South cooperation, particularly within the context of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

Three topics are expected to be discussed at this high-level meeting: 1) Shaping the South-South Strategies for the Implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, 2) the Role of the Group of 77 in Strengthening the Multilateral Architecture Cooperation and South-south Cooperation and 3) Ways and Means for Financing and Operationalizing South-South Cooperation.  

On 10 March 2016, the participants will join a study visit to Khao Hin Son Learning Center to experience first-hand application of the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy to sustainable development.  

On 11 March 2016, Thailand will host the 47^th Annual Meeting of Chairmen/Coordinators of the G-77 Chapters. The meeting aims to strengthen coordination among G-77 Chapters (New York, Vienna, Geneva, Rome, Paris, Nairobi and Washington DC). Thai ambassadors in countries where G-77 chapters are located are also invited to attend this meeting.