Thailand has been elected as a member of the ECOSOC for the term 2020-2022 at UN Headquarters in New York on 14 June 2019. Thailand is among the four countries from the Asia-Pacific group elected to the ECOSOC this time. The three other countries elected for the same term are China, Bangladesh, and South Korea. Thailand received 186 votes, ranking the first among other candidates in the Asia-Pacific group.  H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs also attended the current ECOSOC elections. Thailand has not served in the ECOSOC for 12 years, the last session being during 2005-2007. Our candidature to the ECOSOC, therefore, reflects the strong commitment of the Royal Thai Government to drive forward the Sustainable Development Agenda both domestically and internationally.

              ECOSOC is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) which performs as the UN’s key platform for policy review and recommendations on economic, social, and environmental issues to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Having been elected as one of 54 ECOSOC members provides a great opportunity for Thailand to work with other countries to promote an inclusive ECOSOC to advance the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that leaves no one behind.  Through ECOSOC, Thailand can participate in the formulation of development policy and can also share its best practices on sustainable development, particularly the achievement of SDGs through the implementation of the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy (SEP) and the development of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), as well as the maximization of the contributions of the UN Development System (UNDS).

            Thailand has continuously played an active role in advancing social and development agendas which bodes well with the work of the ECOSOC, for example, the extension of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) countrywide, the adoption of the Bangkok Principles to prevent and reduce the risk of health emergencies caused by disaster, the initiation of the Bangkok Rules which has become the first UN guidelines on the treatment of women prisoners, and the promotion of south-south cooperation which highlights Thailand’s efforts to expand international cooperation for development to the international community.

                After the ECOSOC elections, Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai had bilateral meetings with 1. Mrs. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73^rd Session of UNGA 2. Mrs. Inga Rhonda King, President of ECOSOC 3. Mr. Liu Zhenmin, Under Secretary-General for the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, and 4. Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, President of the 74^th Session of UNGA. They all congratulated Thailand on being elected to the ECOSOC and commended Thailand’s role in advancing the SDGs during its G77 chairmanship in 2016. They also expressed confidence that Thailand, as a country that attaches great importance to sustainable development and as Chair of ASEAN, will play an important role in promoting sustainable development at the regional and global levels.