On 2 November 2018, H.E. Mr. Chaisiri Anamarn, Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, presided over the 5^th TICA Connect “USAID – TICA Development Cooperation Partnership: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” event at Eden Zone 3, 3^rd floor of Central World. The event was attended by Mr. Peter Haymond, Chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of the United States of America, as well as government agencies of partner countries, and Thai and foreign organisations with headquarters in Thailand.

The Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), co-organised the 5^th TICA Connect event to showcase the development cooperation  and partnership between Thailand and the United States of America in various sectors, namely public health, environment, energy, as well as exchange of experiences and knowledge, forging future partnerships that will lead to sustainable development, and the expansion of networks between Thai and foreign agencies 

On this occasion, Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand stated that Thailand and the United States of America are partners in development, sharing experiences and expertise to developing countries. Besides the existing projects, TIICA and USAID signed a Memorandum of Understanding on “Trilateral Cooperation” on 28 November 2012 to expand development cooperation to other developing countries in Asia and to promote global partnership for the achievement of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Thailand is guided by a home-grown approach towards sustainable development known as Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) which has been instrumental in forging partnerships with countries abroad under the policy of ‘SEP for SDGs Partnership’. This approach has inspired Thailand to become partners in development with the United States of America in the areas of diplomacy, security and development.

Mr. Peter Haymond, Chargé d’affaires of the Embassy of the United States of America announced a new collaboration between with the USAID and TICA in association with the Coca-Cola Company to implement the community water resource management of the Royal Initiative Project known as ‘Kaem Ling Project’ (monkey cheek) in the Lower Mekong region, beginning with Laos People’s Democratic Republic.

The 5^th TICA Connect event featured U.S. Alumni talks, informative videos, panel discussions and exhibitions showcasing the history of long and close cooperation in the area of development between Thailand and the United States of America.