Minister

Minister
On 20 July 2007, Ms. Alicia Bárcena, Under-Secretary-General for Management of the United Nations (UN), paid a courtesy call on Mr. Nitya Pibulsonggram, Foreign Minister, at Foreign Ministry on the occasion of her first visit to Thailand as a lead speaker for Regional Seminar on ‘Proposals for Improved Governance and Management of the UN Secretariat.” During her visit to Thailand, Ms. Alicia Bárcena also met with the Thai business sectors.
July 23, 2007
On 20 July 2007, Ms. Alicia Bárcena, Under-Secretary-General for Management of the United Nations (UN), paid a courtesy call on Mr. Nitya Pibulsonggram, Foreign Minister, at Foreign Ministry on the occasion of her first visit to Thailand as a lead speaker for Regional Seminar on ‘Proposals for Improved Governance and Management of the UN Secretariat” on 19 July 2007. The said seminar was one of the events organized by Thailand in the capacity of a country member of the Four Nations Initiative on UN Governance and Management (4 NI) comprising Thailand, South Africa, Chile, and Sweden.
On this occasion, Foreign Minister Nitya extended his welcome to Ms. Bárcena and expressed his appreciation for her kind acceptance to the 4NI’s invitation as one of the lead speakers at its Regional Seminar and the Thai Government’s invitation for a meeting on 20 July 2007 with Thai business sectors. This meeting provided the Thai businessmen an opportunity to learn from her firsthand experience as a person who holds direct responsibility for the UN procurement system on how to conduct business deals with the organization.
Ms. Bárcena responded that it was her great honour to be invited to Thailand and expressed her opinion about the 4 NI that the activities of the group were of great significance and they should be further encouraged. Ms. Bárcena also recommended that Thailand cooperate with other member countries of the 4 NI to provide more information about the group to the General Assembly of the UN which will be held in September 2007.
With regards to her meeting with the Thai business sectors, Ms. Bárcena elaborated that the meeting was greatly satisfactory and the Thai business sectors have great potential and should have been exploited to the fullest. Ms. Bárcena suggested that the business sectors in which Thai businessmen should explore when dealing with the UN include transportation, aircraft, construction, and office equipment. In this connection, Ms. Bárcena was willing to work with the Thai business sectors on the improvement of their potential in the future.
Foreign Minister Nitya and Ms. Bárcena also discussed about the future cooperation between the UN and Thailand as well as ASEAN countries in general. In this connection, Foreign Minister Nitya expressed his view that ASEAN and sub-groups of ASEAN, such as ACMECS, FEALAC and ACD, had great potential in terms of its geographical coverage that not only extends across Southeast Asia but also expands to other regions such as East Asia, South Asia, Australia, and even South America. With this advantage, ASEAN can be a great partner with the UN in several areas of cooperation, especially in the area of infrastructure expansion.
On behalf of the UN, Ms. Bárcena expressed her appreciation to Thailand for its contributions to the UN, particularly on fund contribution and peacekeeping operations. In addition, Ms. Bárcena extended her invitation to the head of the delegation from Thailand to participate in High Level Event on Climate Change to be held by Secretary-General of the UN on 24 September 2007 one day prior to the General Assembly Meeting of the UN.