On 23 April 2025, Mr. Russ Jalichandra, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, presided over the 5th Thailand–Pacific Island Countries Forum (TPIF) and hosted a welcoming dinner in honour of the high-level delegations from the Pacific Island countries. Also in attendance were the Director-General of the Department of American and South Pacific Affairs, the Deputy Director-General of the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), and the Deputy Director-General of the Department of American and South Pacific Affairs.

The meeting was attended by high-level representatives from the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Secretariat and 6 Pacific Island countries, namely the Cook Islands, Fiji, the Marshall Islands, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The 5th TPIF addressed several key issues. These included (1) Thailand’s role as a dialogue partner of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) as the meeting reaffirmed Thailand’s commitment as a dialogue partner and supporter of development cooperation efforts. It also underscored Thailand’s implementation of the Pacific Partner Action & Commitment Engagement Plan (PACE Plan), with particular emphasis on human resource development in the Pacific region. It also included, (2) Areas of cooperation, with discussions highlighting several potential areas for collaboration, including fisheries, marine resource conservation, and the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy Model.

The TPIF is an initiative launched by Thailand, hosted consecutively between 2014 and 2017, in parallel with the annual session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in Bangkok. It serves as a platform for high-level dialogue between Thailand and Pacific Island countries on development cooperation and other areas of mutual interest.