On 7 May 2018, Mrs. Kanchana Patarachoke, Director-General of the Department of International Organizations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, who also serves as SDGs Coordinator or “Ms. SDGs” for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, chaired the 2nd meeting of the Open-ended Working Group for Sustainable Development Goals (OEWG for SDGs). The meeting was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and attended by 70 representatives from both public sector and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

          During the first part of the meeting, the participants were briefed by Ms. Deirdre Boyd, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Thailand, and her colleagues about development works undertaken by the UN Country Team (UNCT) in Thailand in 2017 in collaboration with relevant Thai agencies in accordance with the United Nations Partnership Framework (UNPAF) for 2017-2021. A key principle underpinning such cooperative endeavours included the promotion of inclusive development among all sectors of the society. Examples of development projects that UNCT have undertaken at the local level with CSOs were also highlighted.

          The meeting was also briefed about the result of the recent official visit to Thailand by the Working Group on Business and Human Rights (WG on BHR) during 26 March - 4 April 2018. The WG on BHR represented Thailand’s commitment in working with this UN special mechanism and serving as an important mutual learning process for both sides. The meeting valued the visit by the WG on BHR and viewed that Sustainable Development Goals and human rights are mutually reinforcing and interconnected.

          Representatives from the public sector and CSOs also exchanged views on ongoing works related to sustainable development in various areas such as women and girls’ empowerment, Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), the need for more public consultations, and localizing SDGs. The meeting agreed that cooperation among all stakeholders is essential to the advancement of the SDGs while the SDGs can be a catalyst to forge cooperation among all stakeholders.