Since the 5th congress taking place in December 2022, the Vietnam-Thailand Friendship Association has increased coordination and cooperation with the Thailand-Vietnam Friendship Association to promote people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

In March 2023, the association welcomed and worked with the delegation of the Thailand-Vietnam Friendship Association to visit Vietnam.

During this visit, the delegation had meetings with the National Startup Support Center, Hanoi Young Business Association, and Vietnam Digital Communication Association. The parties exchanged information and explored cooperation opportunities in supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, young businesses, and startups of the two countries.

In August 2023, the delegation of the Vietnam-Thailand Friendship Association, led by Association Chairman Nguyen Van Thanh, visited Thailand, worked with the Thailand-Vietnam Friendship Association, and attended the Thailand-Vietnam Business Forum from August 14-16, 2023. They connected relevant agencies of the two countries to promote cooperation in a number of fields such as education, digital technology, and business opportunities.

Local cooperation is one of the priorities of the two friendship associations. Since 2019, Thai Nguyen province and Udon Thani province of Thailand have agreed to upgrade their relationship, becoming two sister provinces.

Recently, the two associations coordinated with the leaders of Thai Nguyen province to promote the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the sister provinces of Thai Nguyen and Udon Thani. This has promoted cooperation between the two provinces, including the exchange of local products such as Vietnam’s OCOP (One Commune One Product) and Thailand’s OTOP (One Tambon One Product), and enhanced tourism exchange between young businesses.

Educational cooperation is also a priority area and is promoted by both associations, especially exchanges and connections between universities and students of the two countries.

On August 23, 2023, FPT University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Khon Kaen University, Chulalongkorn University, and King Mongkut’s University of Technology. According to the MoU, the parties agreed to cooperate in exchanging students and lecturers, conducting joint research, and organizing training programs, seminars, and discussions.

They continue to bring students with difficult circumstances in some localities of Vietnam to study at Bamboo School. The Vietnam-Thailand Friendship Association has also arranged for two students from Lam Dong province to study at the school with scholarships from C.P Group. They are currently recruiting three more students to study under scholarships from Central Retail.

In the field of health, in March 2023, the two associations discussed a project to sponsor medical equipment for a district hospital in Nghe An province. The initiative to organize volunteer medical teams to examine and treat eyes for people in remote areas is also promoted by the two associations.

According to Nguyen Duy Hung, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam-Thailand Friendship Association, from now until early 2024, many activities will take place to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam-Thailand strategic partnership, friendship activities on Tet holidays, and major anniversaries of the two countries.

The Vietnam-Thailand Friendship Association is ready to coordinate and participate in these activities with the Thailand-Vietnam Friendship Association and other organizations to strengthen connections and friendly cooperation between the people of the two countries.

The Association will continue to coordinate with localities to select students in three provinces of Ha Nam, Long An, and Bac Lieu to study at Bamboo School under the scholarship program sponsored by Central Retail.

The association will also organize a delegation to visit and work with Hai Phong City on the establishment of the Vietnam-Thailand Friendship Association in the city.