H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, is scheduled to attend the Handover Ceremony of the Chairmanship of the Group of 77 (G77) on 13 January 2017 at the United Nations Headquarters, New York.

The Foreign Minister will deliver a statement to emphasize the achievements of Thailand  as the Chair of the G77 for 2016 and handover the Chairmanship to H.E. Mr. Rafael Correa, President of the Republic of Ecuador, Chair of the G77 for 2017. The Ceremony will be witnessed by H.E. Mr. António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, H.E. Mr. Peter Thompson, President of the General Assembly and 134 members of the Group.

Prior to the Handover Ceremony, Thailand and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation will jointly organize the launch of the first volume of the ‘South-South In Action’ Publications Series entitled “Sustainability in Thailand: Experience for Developing Countries” on 12 January 2017 at the United Nations Headquarters. Thailand was chosen by the UNOSSC as the first country to publicize its journey from being an aid recipient to becoming an emerging development partner in this new ‘South-South in Action’ publications series. In the publication, Thailand shares its experience and best practices in promoting sustainable development undertaken through development assistance and development projects based on the application the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP).

On the occasion of the launch of the said Publication, Thailand and UNOSSC will co-organize a panel discussion under the theme “Pathways to Sustainability: Thailand’s Sufficiency Economy Philosophy” on the same day. The panel discussion aims to share Thailand’s experience in promoting South-South and triangular cooperation, especially through the implementation of the SEP. It also aims to gather the views of Thailand’s partners who have implemented or followed SEP principles and to encourage the exchange of relevant knowledge and experiences and explore the different pathways to sustainable development offered by different countries.  The event will be participated by delegates from Member States of the United Nations and other high-level officials from international organizations under the UN development system.