While Thailand itself receives development finance from partners such as Japan, China and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), it simultaneously extends a hand to neighbors such as Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar – averaging $70 million annually from 2015-2022 through a mix of concessional loans and grants – as well as, increasingly to countries further from home. The primary objective of such development cooperation is to narrow the poverty gap within the Mekong sub-region and ASEAN as a whole, which would facilitate deeper economic and political integration and cooperation. Thailand’s aid diplomacy thus demonstrates that countries need not achieve “developed” status before becoming agents of regional and international change.

Indeed, as former Deputy Director of the Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), Paisan Rupanichkij explains, “We try to show that countries from the South can help other countries from the South.” This approach reflects Thailand’s belief that stronger ties with, and greater prosperity in, neighbouring countries strengthen regional security and create economic opportunities for all.

Building Roads to Prosperity

In Thailand’s regional development assistance, a large share of aid focuses on economic infrastructure such as transport, roads, rail and logistics, and recent expansions include social infrastructure like water supply and waste management, according to the U.N., helping previously underserved communities access health care, education, and economic opportunities that raise household income and quality of life and support poverty reduction.

Laos has become one of the greatest beneficiaries of regional aid from Thailand, which has pledged support in transforming Laos from a land-locked to land-linked country. The expansion of railway connections and the construction of the fifth Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge (completed in December 2025) provide two important examples. Thailand also benefits from this partnership: it invests in and purchases significant amounts of energy from Laos, particularly in hydropower, which totalled 10,500MW in 2022. This mutually beneficial economic relationship supports Thailand’s own energy security (under its Power Development Plan, which stresses the need to increase the country’s share of renewable energy and promote energy efficiency) while simultaneously raising important development revenue for Laos.

The Sharing of Expertise

While infrastructure dominates Thailand’s aid portfolio, there is an increasing awareness and focus on knowledge transfers and expertise. As an emerging donor, Thailand does not rival the financial clout of other major donors, yet it does have “a [wealth of] expertise, know-how and technology that could apply to other developing countries,” according to Rupanichkij.

Thailand’s agricultural expertise has been a central pillar of its development cooperation, sharing affordable and easily transferable technology to recipient nations, both in Southeast Asia and beyond. Recent agreements with several African nations have focused on agricultural development and food security, including capacity-building for smallholdings, increasing productivity and leveraging innovation.

Thailand’s maternal health program – which achieved a mortality rate of 24.6 deaths per 100,000 births, far below the SDG goal of 70 – has been successfully shared with Laos through midwifery training programs. Between 2015 and 2017, through Government cost-sharing, $45,000 went for improving human resource skills and systems in these programs, with a return on investment (in terms of estimated social value) of $4 for every dollar spent.

A Model for South-South Cooperation

Thailand’s aid diplomacy carries particular significance as Western donors reassign foreign assistance priorities: regional aid from Thailand demonstrates that geographic proximity and shared development experiences create advantages that distant donors cannot replicate. The country’s approach reflects its Philosophy of Sufficiency Economy, which emphasises moderation, balance and self-immunity in building resilience to the extensive and rapid changes in the material, social, environmental and cultural conditions of the world. The principle is intended as a means towards community empowerment, as the foundation of the local economy, and emphasises corporate responsibility and governance. As such, it puts forth a replicable vision for regional development.

Thailand’s dual identity as both aid recipient and donor offers valuable lessons for other middle-income countries. Nations need not wait to graduate ‘developing’ status before contributing to regional development. Thailand’s strategic aid diplomacy boasts a plethora of benefits: promoting regional stability and thus security, economic benefits through regional integration and soft power advantages through fostering positive international relationships. But crucially, it proves developing nations can be powerful agents of poverty reduction – for themselves and their neighbours. As Newin Sensir, former President of Thailand’s Neighbouring Countries Economic Development Cooperation Agency (NEDA) emphasized, “by working together, we ensure that growth is spread throughout the region,” the U.N. reports.

– Caroline Sheehan

Caroline is based in Edinburgh, Scotland and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.

Photo: Flickr