On 26-27 April 2016, H.E. Mr. Chaisiri Anamarn, Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, attended the 7th Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan.

The UNAOC is a forum where different civilizations can constructively exchange experiences, views and suggestions, in order to tackle violence and extremism at their root causes as a form of preventive diplomacy.  The 7th Global Forum under the Theme “Living Together in Inclusive Societies: a Challenge and a Goal” was attended by official delegations from 120 member and observer countries as well as 1,500 participants from all sectors.

In the UNAOC Group of Friends high-level meeting, H.E. the Advisor delivered a statement emphasizing the link between the Sustainable Development Goals and peace, which is in line with the Royal Thai Government’s policy to provide socio-economic opportunities for vulnerable groups. The statement also mentioned the Ministry’s activities to promote interreligious and intercultural understanding, namely the hosting of the Interfaith Symposium in collaboration with the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA) under the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Promotion of Multicultural Understanding in ASEAN.

Following the initiatives of Spain and Turkey,  the UNAOC was founded by H.E. Mr. Kofi Annan while serving as UN Secretary-General in 2005 Thailand joined the UNAOC’s Group of Friends in the same year and has participated in every Global Forum as well as contributed regularly to the UNAOC Voluntary Trust Fund.  Currently, the Group of Friends comprises 119 member countries and 26 international organisations.