H.E. Mr. Virasakdi Futrakul, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand will head the Thai delegation to attend the 73^rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA73) in New York during 22 September - 1 October 2018. The theme of this year’s General Debate is “Making the United Nations Relevant to All People: Global Leadership and Shared Responsibilities for Peaceful, Equitable and Sustainable Societies”.

          The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand will attend high-level meetings and side events of UNGA73 as follows:

          1. General Debate

          2. “The Global Call to Action on the World Drug Problem” hosted by President of the United States, which Thailand is among the co-hosts, to demonstrate political will to effectively address and counter the serious threats posed by the world drug problem.

          3. Presenting Thailand’s Instrument of Ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) to the United Nations. Thailand signed the CTBT on 12 November 1996 and has been very active when it comes to the activities of the CTBT as we attach high importance to disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), including nuclear weapons.

          4. The High-Level Event on “Youth 2030” to Launch the UN Youth Strategy and the Generation Unlimited Partnership which aims at prioritising youth in the work of the UN System and introducing a multi-stakeholder partnership under UNICEF's Generation Unlimited Partnership to promote education, skills development for employment and youth empowerment, especially for girls.         

          5. The High-Level Event on Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) which is the initiative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Thailand will also endorse the Declaration of Shared Commitments on UN Peacekeeping Operations. The objective of the Declaration is to renew the commitment of member states to enhance the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations, in coherence with sustainable development and sustaining peace agenda.

          6. Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) Ministerial Meeting, a regional cooperation framework initiated by Thailand with the aim to connect countries in Asia and build a platform for the Asian community to discuss policies and enhance cooperation. Thailand is a country coordinator in the area of sustainable development of ACD and hosted the 2^nd ACD Summit in Bangkok during 8 - 10 October 2016.

          7. The Group of 77 Ministerial Meeting to exchange experience and further build partnership for development. Thailand chaired the G-77 in 2016.

          8. Meetings under the framework of ASEAN such as the Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (IAMM), the Informal ASEAN - US Ministerial Meeting, and ASEAN - UN Ministerial Meeting (AUMM), which will provide an opportunity for ASEAN member states to exchange views and enhance cooperation with the UN and other partners.

          9. Bilateral meetings with various countries to strengthen bilateral relations and enhance cooperation. 

          UNGA73 is an opportunity for Thailand to play a role in various global agendas such as partnership for sustainable development, healthcare, migration and refugees, disaster relief, climate change, peace and security, disarmament, and multilateral cooperation.  Thailand will also use UNGA73 to seek support for her candidature to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for the term 2020-2022, the election of which will take place in June 2019.

          The Minister of Public Health of Thailand will also attend the high-level meetings and side events on global health issues during UNGA73 such as the High-level Meeting on the Fight against Tuberculosis (TB), the High-level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD), and the side-event on Universal Health Coverage. These meetings are an opportunity to showcase Thailand’s active role on health promotion and the linkages between improvement of health, society and sustainable development, which are consistent with  SDG 3 (ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages).