LOS BAÑOS, Philippines—The Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) launched the Meet the Diplomats Series (MDS) on 24 February 2026, spotlighting Thailand-Philippines cooperation in agriculture and rural development.
The inaugural session featured Her Excellency Makawadee Sumitmor, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to the Republic of the Philippines, as the featured guest. Diplomats, government officials, scientists, academics, and development practitioners joined the event held at SEARCA headquarters.
SEARCA Center Director Dr. Mercedita Sombilla said the MDS is aligned with SEARCA's 12th Five-Year Development Plan: Sustainable Transformation of Agricultural Systems through Innovation in Southeast Asia (SUSTAIN Southeast Asia), which focuses on boosting farmer incomes, enhancing food security, building climate resilience, and empowering future generations.
She underscored Thailand's agricultural innovations and 75 years of Thailand-Philippines diplomatic relations as a strong foundation for deeper cooperation. "Our bilateral ties—spanning trade, education, tourism, defense, and agriculture—are not merely agreements on paper. They are living partnerships that strengthen ASEAN's collective resilience and prosperity," she said.
Ambassador Makawadee highlighted that Thai companies in the Philippines have created more than 50,000 jobs and are investing in agribusiness, the digital economy, and green energy. She cited Charoen Pokphand Foods Philippines (CPF) as a long-standing investor working with Filipino farmers through contract farming and technology transfer, now the country's leading supplier of pork and shrimp and third-largest supplier of chicken.
She also pointed to rising Thai investments in the coconut industry, with two major firms building large-scale processing plants in Panabo and Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao, each worth nearly one billion pesos and set to begin operations this year.
Ambassador Makawadee explained that Thailand's overseas engagement is coordinated through "Team Thailand Plus," a network of government and private sector actors, noting that the Philippine team is among the most active. She also shared Thailand's experience in agricultural development through royal projects such as the Doi Tung Development Project and government support for smart agriculture, precision technologies, and MSMEs.
In an open forum, participants raised issues on MSME competitiveness, access to technology, and aging farming populations. Ambassador Makawadee called for stronger regional collaboration, stressing that shared experiences among Southeast Asian countries can help address common agricultural challenges.
The event concluded with the presentation of a certificate of appreciation to Ambassador Makawadee. SEARCA said the MDS will continue to feature ambassadors who will share country perspectives, foreign policy priorities, development directions, and cooperation opportunities to inform SEARCA's research, innovation, and capacity development programs, and to advance inclusive, innovation-driven agricultural and rural development in Southeast Asia.