In June 2017, Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) will co-sign the Action Plan on the Joint Training Program on Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) for the period of three years (2017 – 2019). This Action Plan is under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Strengthening Partnership for International Development Cooperation mutually signed by TICA and KOICA on 25 June 2014 in the Republic of Korea.
During 2017 - 2019, TICA and KOICA will organize training courses entitled “Sustainable Agriculture and Environmental Management based on the application of His Majesty the Late King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP)” in Thailand and “Water Resource Development and Management” in the Republic of Korea for officials from ASEAN member countries and Timor – Leste. The training courses will provide them an opportunity to share their own development experiences and to create networking among themselves. KOICA-TICA Joint Training Program is one form of cooperation activities as stipulated in the MOU signed in 2014 that has been promoting ASEAN integration as well as Thailand’s role as “the Development Partners” with other Donors and as “the Regional Centre for Human Resource Development”.
This trilateral cooperation has complied with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ policy in stimulating partnership cooperation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal 17 on Partnerships for the Goals. The training topics are also in line with Goal 6 on Clean Water and Sanitation,
and Goal 14 on Life Below Water. More importantly, this is to introduce SEP as an alternative development to other developing countries while the Ministry has set forth to emphasize the development diplomacy policy by applying SEP for SDGs Partnership.