The Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), Ministry of Foreign Affairs in cooperation with Burapha University will hold the Annual International Training Course (AITC) on the topic of “Sustainable Community-Based Ecotourism Development” during 1 – 15 May 2017 with participants from 18 countries: Timor-Leste, Philippines, Indonesia, Mongolia, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Rwanda, Niger, Cape Verde, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Mexico and Uruguay. This programme aims to enhance understanding on policies and practices of community-based ecotourism and sustainable tourism through the observation of best practices in Thailand. The participants will learn from representatives of relevant Thai agencies such as the Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (Public Organization), Thai Eco Tourism and Adventure Travel Association (TEATA) and visit examples of good management in Thailand at Cultural Tourism Management at Ban Nam Chieo and Pak Nam PraSae Community.

Moreover, TICA will organise another AITC with Mahidol University under the title of “Strengthening Health System: the key contributing to achieve Sustainable Development Goals” during 1 – 26 May 2017 with participants from 19 countries: Myanmar, Vietnam, Philippines, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Turkey, Papua New Guinea, Liberia, Sudan, Rwanda, Mauritius, Cape Verde, Swaziland, Madagascar, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Lucia and Thailand. This course aims to share and exchange the experiences of health system management in Thailand and participants’ countries in achieving Sustainable Development Goals – SDGs. In addition to the lecture, participants will be trained in Suphanburi Province to study the work of community-based health system management and the implementation of the community health networks.

TICA has been operating AITC continuously since 1991 to be an important tool in strengthening relationships with strategic countries and countries with relatively little developmental cooperation with Thailand, as well as work towards enhancing Thailand's strategic status on the world stage. TICA has been working with Thai institutions and universities to organize training courses in roughly 20 different courses each year with 20 to 25 participants from each target country. Between 2012 to 2016, there are more than 1,200 AITC participants from 96 countries.