On March 19, 2026, JICA held its annual meeting with the National Economic Development Cooperation Agency of Thailand (NEDA) at JICA Headquarters in Tokyo. This meeting was the seventh in a series of meetings held in accordance with the Partnership Arrangement between JICA and NEDA, which aims to strengthen cooperation between the two organizations. Participants from Japan and Thailand, both in person and online, engaged in a lively exchange of views.
NEDA was established in 2005 as an international cooperation agency in Thailand to provide financial assistance to neighboring countries.JICA has supported NEDA since its establishment to strengthen its organizational capacity, and in 2016, the two organizations signed a partnership agreement to further strengthen their cooperative relationship. With this agreement, JICA and NEDA are working to further promote development cooperation in the region.
The meeting opened with opening remarks by Mr. Gen Yoneda, Director of JICA’s Southeast Asia and Pacific Department, and Mr. Peerameet Uthithoonnetilak, President of NEDA. During the discussion, there was a lively exchange of views on ODA trends in the Mekong region and effective measures to respond to these changes in light of the drastically changing environment surrounding international aid.
The participants also reviewed the achievements and progress of the collaborative projects by the two organizations to date, and confirmed the importance of the two organizations continuing to work together to provide support to the Mekong region and other important areas in order to maximize the development impact.
JICA will continue to further deepen its partnership with NEDA to strengthen development cooperation in the region, particularly in the Mekong region.
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