Thailand hosts forum on Pacific aid

Pacific countries will gather for the first ever development cooperation forum with Thailand this weekend.

Thailand is one of Asia’s emerging aid providers, with a growing interest in the Pacific as well as its nearest neighbours including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

All 14 member nations of the Pacific Forum have been invited to attend the first Thailand-Pacific Island Countries Forum in Bangkok on August 9-10.

The meeting will focus on the theme, ‘Strengthening Development Cooperation toward Common Prosperity’.

Training and scholarship opportunities are expected to be on the agenda along with sustainable development, agriculture, fisheries and tourism.

Anthea Mulakala, director for International Development Cooperation at the Asia Foundation, says the international development landscape has shifted dramatically over the past decade and Thailand is a part of that change.

“In the scope of donors, Thailand is a very small and relatively new donor, and interestingly, like many other Asian countries Thailand is both a donor and a recipient country at the same time,” she said.

“Thailand’s development assistance probably started in the 1990s when the economy reached middle income level and the government wanted to put forth as part of Thailand’s foreign policy objectives to become more of a development cooperation partner in the region.

“So Thailand’s priorities have really been in its own neighbourhood – what they call CLMV countries, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam – but also in recent years you have seen an expansion to other parts of Asia, Africa and also the Pacific.

Thailand has big economic interests in the Pacific, namely the tuna fishing industry and Papua New Guinea’s gas resources.

Mulakala says the forum will be an opportunity for the South-East Asian nation to deepen its economic links to the region as well as widening its development cooperation activities.

“Thailand has economic objectives as part of its cooperation program,” she said.

“They are also hoping to have increased investment and partnerships along the lines of South-South cooperation and South-South economic cooperation with the Pacific islands.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is interested in expanding its scope more widely into the Pacific and particularly in the areas around capacity-building; so looking at focusing on Thailand’s expertise, best practices and sharing experiences, particularly in areas around sustainable development, community development, agriculture and fisheries.

“I think that what you will see is more of a role for technical training. I believe there has already been a considerable amount of technical training between Thailand and Pacific Island states and that will likely grow.”

The will bring together delegates from the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Palua, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

Observers from Australia and New Zealand have also been invited to participate in the forum.