On 14 July 2026, H.E. Mr. Arthayudh Srisamoot, Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, hosted a working lunch in honour of heads of delegation and high-level representatives from African countries, namely Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Togo, on the sidelines of the 2026 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF 2026), held from 13 - 16 July 2026 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The working lunch was aimed at providing an opportunity to strengthen partnership between Thailand and Africa as well as to seek support for Thailand’s candidature to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for the term 2029 - 2031.

The Advisor emphasized that the African region is important for Thailand as it is a long-term friend and partner with a shared vision of advancing sustainable development through a people-centred approach. Thailand relaunched the Thailand - Africa Initiative (TAI) in December 2025 to strengthen its partnership with Africa across four key areas: political, economic, development, and global strategic cooperation. He also sought support for Thailand’s candidature to the ECOSOC for the term 2029 - 2031, emphasizing Thailand’s commitment to help make the ECOSOC more coherent, relevant, inclusive, and action-oriented so that sustainable development delivers tangible results for the people. He also invited African countries to participate in the 2026 IMF - World Bank Group Annual Meetings, which Thailand will host in Bangkok this October.