An agreement signing ceremony for collaborative projects among Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Viet Nam (CLTV) was held on 30 March 2023. Hosted by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP), the event brought together key organizations from each respective country – namely NXPO of Thailand, General Department of Science, Technology and Innovation of Cambodia, the Department of Science of Lao PDR, and the State Agency of Technology Innovation of Viet Nam – to work under the framework of the South-South and Triangular Collaboration Programme on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) among CLTV.

Initiated by the UNESCAP, the South-South and Triangular Collaboration Programme on STI among CLTV is a partnership formed between developing countries to share best practices and solutions that can be adopted and adapted to fit with the socio-economic settings of each country. The program emphasizes the exploitation of STI to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Policymakers and experts from CLTV have been working together to identify common priorities for STI collaboration and have reached an agreement to embark on five collaborative projects. 

Among these five collaborative projects, NXPO President Dr. Kitipong Promwong said that Thailand will be leading the development of STI platform for closed loop plastics packaging, and work with Lao PDR to establish sustainability in cassava value chain. Both projects are also in line with Thailand’s BCG national agenda.

In addition, NXPO will employ its wealth of expertise in STI policy design to support the other three projects. The experience of setting up ASEAN Talent Mobility Platform and High-skilled Workforce Platforms such as work-integrated learning (WiL) in Thailand can be shared with Cambodia to help the implementation of Cambodia-led project to establish regional STI pool of talent for inclusive and sustainable growth, whereas experience in Innovation Club Thailand can benefit two projects proposed by Viet Nam, namely Regional Alliance of Technology Transfer and Adoption Centres and Scale-up readiness program for regional startup & innovative enterprises. 

“Through the implementation of these 3-year projects and support from the UNESCAP, a strong network of STI policymakers will be formed and our capacity in STI policy design will be strengthened to help improve our regional competitiveness,” said Dr. Kitipong.  

Following the agreement signing, work plans of the five projects were presented: 1) Scale-up readiness program for regional startups by Viet Nam,  2) Human capital development: Expanding technology and digital skills in the workforce and STEM education by Cambodia, 3) Regional Alliance of Technology Transfer and Adoption Centers by Viet Nam, 4) STI Platform for Closed Loop Plastics Packaging by Thailand, and 5) Policy Design and Implementation Support – Sustainability of Cassava Value Chain by Thailand and Lao PDR.