Thailand on Monday donated a further nine million baht to fund humanitarian aid for the Myanmar crisis, following Caretaker Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa's pledge made during the recent 57th Asean Ministerial Meeting (AMM) in Vientiane.
Eksiri Pintaruchi, Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, on Monday represented the Thai government in making the donation to the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) to assist Myanmar people.
Ms Eksiri said that this financial support came from Mr Maris's pledge that Thailand would support the AHA Centre as per the Vientiane meeting held July 21-27.
She said Thailand has also provided US$450,000 (15.75 million baht) since 2021 to support humanitarian work in Myanmar. These funds have been given to various international organisations, such as UN agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
"Thailand hopes that this contribution will increase the humanitarian assistance that the AHA centre will deliver to the affected populations in hard-to-reach areas," Ms Eksiri said.
"Looking forward, Thailand is determined to do more to scale up humanitarian assistance to the people in Myanmar and is open to working with various partners to fulfil that goal," she said.
Lee Yam Ming, executive director of AHA Centre, said the centre is encouraged by Thailand's constructive engagement and collaboration with Asean to benefit the Myanmar people.
"[Thailand]'s commitment does not only amplify the successful implementation of phase 1, which provided for immediate needs in response to Covid-19, but also the ongoing support for phase 2, which addresses broader needs of humanitarian assistance in Myanmar," he said.
