NZAID's Relationship With Thailand

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NZAID's Relationship With Thailand

New Zealand's bilateral aid programme in Thailand ceased formally in July 2004 when the Prime Ministers of both countries announced that a new relationship based on regional partnership would be developed. There is growing informal interaction between NZAID and Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), the aid agency in Thailand, as areas of mutual interest and cooperation are explored. Thailand was welcomed as the thirteenth Post-Forum Dialogue partner in 2004 and this took effect at the 2005 Forum.

While no longer receiving bilateral assistance, Thailand is still eligible to receive humanitarian assistance and continues to benefit from the Head of Mission fund which has a strong poverty focus for meeting local community level needs. New Zealand provided police officers and funds to assist with victim identification in the aftermath of the December tsunami which ravaged the west coast of Thailand.

New Zealand continues to work in active partnership with Thailand in supporting the Mekong Institute at Khon Kaen University in northeast Thailand. Since the Mekong Institute was constituted as a regional institution in 2003, Thai nationals have held the positions of Director and Steering Committee chair. New Zealand has a seat on the Council but no longer has an ownership role. The Mekong Institute is diversifying its programmes across the region, and works more closely in co-ordination with other regional training institutions and mechanisms that provide human resource development to the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) - Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Viet Nam, and the Yunnan province of China.

Thailand is keen that its traditional donor/recipient relationships be transformed into collaborative partnerships in third countries, particularly in the GMS. New Zealand increasingly meets with Thailand and other GMS countries at regional meetings such as the annual Asia Development Bank GMS Economic Programme and the ASEAN Joint Management Committee meetings. These occasions offer old and new donors alike opportunities to share experience and to find new ways to collaborate.