A contingent of 273 soldiers based in Nakhon Ratchasima is expected to leave on a peace-keeping mission to South Sudan in April next year, says a military source.
The troops, from the engineering unit of the 2nd Army Region and 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Regiment, will replace the current batch of Thai soldiers who were originally scheduled to return home in October. The Covid-19 pandemic has put off their return.
The issue was brought up during a meeting between Gen Chalermpol Srisawat, chief of Thailand's defence forces, and UN deputy secretary-general for Field Support Atul Khare at the United Nations, New York.
Gen Chalermpol, who is in the US on an official visit, met the UN deputy secretary-general on Friday to discuss Thailand's contribution.
He informed the UN representative that the Thai contingent, which will be the country's third rotation there, has been prepared for the mission in South Sudan.
On this occasion the UN representative also thanked Thailand for supporting its missions and praised Thai soldiers for sharing the principles of the "sufficiency economy" with their colleagues and the people of South Sudan.
In addition to the South Sudan mission, Thailand has also sent a unit to take part in the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan.
In the early days of his US visit, Gen Chalermpol met Gen Mark A Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the Pentagon and both sides agreed to strengthen bilateral ties.
Also raised during the meeting were military exercises and security issues and challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.