Opening Remarks
By H.E. Mr. Preecha Laohapongchana
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand
At the
Workshop on Comprehensive Response to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care
22 June 2005
Nairobi, Republic of Kenya

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Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests and Participants,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the outset, I wish to express my appreciation to the Government of the Republic of Kenya for a warm hospitality extended to my delegation upon our arrival in this beautiful country. Your hospitality has made us feel very much at home. I must admit that I have long been looking forward to coming to Africa. It is thus a great pleasure for me to be with you today in my capacity as the Deputy Foreign Minister of Thailand.

It is indeed an honour for my delegation to have many high-level representatives from Kenya, our host, with us here. It is also heart-warming for us to meet friends from Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda, as well as other interested countries and international organizations. My special thanks also go to the United Nations Development Programme, especially its staff at Bangkok Office, for making it possible for all of us to be here together today.

Thailand attaches high importance to strengthening partnerships with Africa. I believe that Thailand and African countries, as partners, have much to learn from each other. Thailand is ready to work with our African friends on all areas of mutual interests.

It is therefore a great pleasure for me to witness today the opening of the Workshop on Comprehensive Response to HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care. This Workshop marks the beginning of a mutually beneficial journey between Thailand and Africa on a broad range of issues of common concern. It also reflects the commitment of Thailand to be proactive in tackling the HIV/AIDS pandemic through an active involvement and support of all stakeholders at all levels.

Distinguished Guests and Participants,

We are meeting here with a common concern and a united purpose. We are concerned about the challenges posed by HIV/AIDS and its devastating consequences. We are united because, in the face of such challenges, we know that we have no other choice but to join hands.

No other continent appreciates the magnitude of the problem than Africa. In this continent, AIDS is one of the leading causes of death. At present, more than 70 per cent of the 40 million people living with HIV/AIDS in the world are in Sub-Saharan Africa. By 2010, Sub-Saharan Africa will have 71 million fewer people because of AIDS. Impacts of this epidemic on the African continent – its peoples, its economies, its social and political structures – are devastating. It is clear now that HIV/AIDS is not just a health issue, but a great challenge to global peace, security and development.

This is the reason why we are here. We believe we have something to share and to offer. Thailand’s response to HIV/AIDS has been acclaimed as a story of impressive achievements that countries can learn from.

For example, Thailand is one of the very first countries to have achieved Millennium Development Goal 6 target on HIV/AIDS well in advance of the target date. Yet, we are determined to go even further. More ambitious "MDG plus" targets and indicators for Goal 6 have been set to reduce HIV prevalence among reproductive adults to 1 per cent by 2006.

In mid 2004, UNDP Thailand, in cooperation with the Thai government, introduced the first thematic MDG Report on “Thailand’s Response to HIV/AIDS: Progress and Challenges”. The Report was launched in connection with the 15th International AIDS Conference in July 2004 in Bangkok. It provides an in-depth analysis of what went right in Thailand, and takes a hard look at many new challenges.

I believe that Thailand is in a good position to share lessons learned from these achievements with our friends in Africa as a concrete form of South-South cooperation. At the same time, Thailand has a lot to learn from experiences of our African friends in coping with the pandemic as well. I am convinced that the experiences of our resource persons and the practical module of the Workshop would lead to better understanding and effective policies in managing community-based HIV/AIDS prevention and care. I hope that the Workshop would find ways to promote a closer cooperation in this field between Thailand and countries in Africa, including through collaboration and support from the donor countries and the United Nations agencies concerned.

Thailand is committed to tackling the HIV/AIDS pandemic because we view the issue as a great threat to security and well-being of human beings anywhere and everywhere. HIV/AIDS is indeed a critical human security challenge of the globalizing world. In this connection, this Workshop is a part of our policy to promote a "human agenda" through strengthening partnerships with all relevant stakeholders in addressing this vital human security issue.

As the present Chair of the Human Security Network (HSN), which is a network of like-minded countries from all continents, Thailand has made HIV/AIDS one of its priorities. Thailand is committed to implement the first HSN Medium Term Work Plan for 2003-2005, which includes HIV/AIDS, by forging partnership with NGOs, civil society and private sector in addressing the scourge. We are also committed to sharing best practices and experiences in this area across regions, with particular emphasis on Asia and Africa. Because HIV/AIDS is closely linked to development, I believe this Workshop and other initiatives soon to follow would significantly contribute to the Eighth Goal of the MDG, which is forging a global partnership for development.

Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests and Participants,

I have full confidence in a potential synergy between Thailand and African countries. I believe that if we work together, hand in hand, we could help lessen the grave human security problem affecting the peoples of Africa.

The success of this Workshop would pave the way for the second one in this series of initiatives, which we schedule to organize sometimes in the last quarter of this year in Pretoria. The second Workshop will target participating countries in southern Africa.

In concluding, I wish to express my appreciation once again to the UNDP-Thailand for the excellent cooperation in co-hosting this Workshop. I thank the Ministry of Public Health and all resource persons for their hard work in preparing for this meeting. I hope that all participants would find this initiative useful in generating new ideas that would help improve your work back at home. I wish you every success and fruitful deliberations.

Thank you.