Arlington, VA – Today, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency welcomed Thailand as its 15th partner under the Global Procurement Initiative: Understanding Best Value (GPI). Under this partnership, USTDA will train public procurement officials to obtain the greatest value for money for Thailand’s public infrastructure investments. The GPI program will be carried out in partnership with the Government of Thailand’s Comptroller General’s Department (CGD), an agency under the Ministry of Finance.
“USTDA’s training with Thailand will support the country’s efforts to ensure fair, transparent procurements and increased international competition for its public tenders,” said Ambassador Vinai Thummalapally (ret.), USTDA’s Acting Director. “USTDA has a long history of partnership with the Kingdom of Thailand, and we believe that cooperation on public procurement will lead to higher-quality and more resilient infrastructure for the Thai people.”
Under the partnership, USTDA will conduct trainings in Thailand, the United States, and virtually on international best practices and the integration of best value methodologies in public procurement. The training will be carried out in coordination with the George Washington University Law School’s Government Procurement Law program, and U.S. expert practitioners with extensive procurement experience in government, the private sector, and higher education. The training will deepen Thailand’s workforce professionalization and use of fair, transparent value-based procurement methodologies. Priority subjects will include best value determination and the use of life-cycle cost analysis to encourage high-standard infrastructure development and procurement practices.
Chargé d’Affaires for the U.S. Mission in Thailand, Michael Heath, said: “Our cooperation under the GPI will help ensure Thailand secures the highest quality technology, services, and infrastructure as it builds back better from the pandemic.”
CGD Director-General Dr. Kulaya Tantitemit said: “We at CGD look forward to taking the next step to learn, incorporate and build upon global best practices with respect to government procurement.”
Launched in 2013, USTDA’s Global Procurement Initiative: Understanding Best Value is dedicated to assisting public officials in emerging economies to better understand the total cost of ownership of goods and services for infrastructure projects. The Initiative now includes 15 partner countries.
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The U.S. Trade and Development Agency helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority infrastructure projects in emerging economies. USTDA links U.S. businesses to export opportunities by funding project preparation and partnership building activities that develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in partner countries.
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