As the ASEAN Coordinator for Sustainable Development, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinal, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, had a meeting with Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, Chief Executive Officer of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA), both of which are under the Word Bank. The Foreign Minister met with Ms. Kristalina on 5 May 2017 during his attendance of the Special ASEAN – U.S. Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Washington D.C., United States of America.

 

Both sides discussed ways to strengthen cooperation between the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 during which the World Bank emphasised its support for Thailand and ASEAN in tackling such issues as malnutrition in ASEAN. The World Bank also supported the establishment of an ASEAN Centre on Active Aging and Innovation in Thailand to provide efficient care for the elderly in the ASEAN region. The centre was proposed by General Prayut Chan-ocha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand, as a way to prepare for ASEAN’s ageing society.

 

This meeting is the second round of high-level talks between Thailand and the World Bank in the past month after Ms. Victoria Kwakwa, Vice President for East Asia Pacific Region, World Bank, met with the Foreign Minister on 30 March 2017 during her attendance of the High-Level Brainstorming Dialogue on Enhancing Complementarities between the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development which Thailand and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) organized on 31 March 2017 at the UN Building in Bangkok, Thailand.

 

Thailand coordinates with organisations like the United Nations and the World Bank to support projects that will help the ASEAN Member States achieve the Sustainable Development Goals as well as to build a people-centric and inclusive ASEAN Community.