CICA Seminar on Sufficiency Economy in Microfinance for SMEs Development held by the Kingdom of Thailand from 22 August to 2 September 2022

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The positive application of the “Sufficiency Economy Philosophy” for the development of small and medium enterprises will be the focus of the training that was launched under the auspices of CICA on 22 August 2022 and will last 2 weeks.

The Kingdom of Thailand, which is a co-coordinator of CICA confidence building measures in the priority area “Development of small and medium enterprises”, is conducting the workshop with the support of the Mekong Institute and the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA).

In his welcoming speech, Dr. Suriyan Vichitlekarn, Executive Director of the Mekong Institute, noted that the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy, proposed by King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand in 1974, was a tandem of philosophy and public administration, embodied in practice. The similarity of the principles of this Philosophy with the Sustainable Development Goals made the Thai experience in supporting SMEs relevant for many states in the region. The Sufficiency Economy Philosophy was based on morality, differing markedly from the neoclassical understanding of the economy, focused on achieving maximum and quick profit for a small group of large entrepreneurs.

Ms. Hathaichanok Siriwattanakul, TICA Human Resources Development Director, noted the importance of promoting proven economic management practices.

Officer of the CICA Secretariat Sholpan Yelkeyeva thanked the organizers for contributing real substance to the CICA Economic Dimension, noting that almost half of the events held on the CICA platform in 2021 and 2022 were devoted to the search for new tools of economic interaction in the CICA area.

In the first day presentations of the workshop, it was noted that the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy allowed Thailand to create favorable conditions for the effective work of the middle class, which was a key element in any national economy. The Sufficiency Economy Philosophy had fueled the emergence of a large number of projects in the Kingdom’s agriculture, thanks to the availability of technological innovations, which had created jobs for millions of people across Thailand. That contributed to the development of small-scale agriculture based on appropriate agricultural technologies and sustainable water management. It was also highlighted that the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy in SME microfinance had a positive impact on deepening regional integration and connectivity.

Specialists in the development of small and medium enterprises from Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Palestine, Qatar, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates take an active part in the workshop, which includes interactive sessions, discussions, daily quizzes to evaluate learning progress.

The event is hosted by the Mekong Institute (MI), an intergovernmental organization that has been established by six governments in the Greater Mekong Subregion: Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam. MI offers various programs and activities aimed at developing human resources and capacity-building to deepen regional cooperation.

 

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