On 26 June 2026, Ms. Sasirit Tangulrat, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, chaired the first meeting of this year of the Committee to drive Thailand’s ratification to the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction or the BBNJ Agreement.

The meeting concurred on the necessity and urgency for Thailand to become Party to the BBNJ Agreement, enabling Thailand to play a leading role in shaping the future direction of its implementation. The meeting agreed that accession to the Agreement would bring significant benefits to Thailand, and acknowledged the results of the analysis on the compatibility of domestic laws to support obligations under the BBNJ Agreement in 4 main areas: (1) marine genetic resources and benefits-sharing (2) area-based management tools (3) environmental impact assessments, and (4) capacity building and technology transfer. The meeting also noted the practices of other countries as examples for becoming Parties to the BBNJ Agreement.

In this regard, the meeting approved the guidelines for Thailand’s ratification to the BBNJ Agreement through the application of administrative measures. Such measures are agreed by the Committee to be sufficient and appropriate for the initial phase, ensuring that Thailand faces no risk of violating international obligations under the BBNJ Agreement.

The BBNJ Agreement entered into force on 17 January 2026, with 89 State Parties, and the first Conference of the Parties (COP1) is scheduled to be held on 11-22 January 2027.