Thank you, Madame Prime Minister.

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

Sawatdee khrap!

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, I am very honoured and happy to be back in Thailand.

The United Nations and Thailand have a long and enduring partnership. I am here to strengthen that partnership.

Bangkok is our Asian headquarters. I thank the Thai Government and the people of this city for being such wonderful hosts.

I am visiting this country at a time when the city and the country are coping with the worst flooding in decades and I have been deeply affected by the images of what Thai people are going through.

The United Nations is working closely with disaster management authorities. We stand ready to do everything possible we can to help you respond and recover, and I would like to take this opportunity to express my most profound sympathies and condolences to those people who have lost their lives and who lost their valuable properties and their beloved ones.

I am sure that under the eminent leadership of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, this crisis will be overcome with a strong, determined will, resilient will of the Thai people and with the help of international community.

I am grateful to many international community members who have been generously supporting Thai people in their efforts to overcome this crisis. The United Nations also takes pride and is happy to be part of these efforts by providing modest support.

This afternoon, I will see the damage first-hand, and later today, I will be visiting United Nations agencies and staff working here.

And I will also attend a roundtable on universal health coverage and visit an exhibit on Thai universal health care. I have expressed my commendation and praised the Government of Thailand for their very successful and effective universal health coverage which can be emulated by many countries in the world.

I am grateful to Prime Minister Yingluck for her strong support of the United Nations in promoting and working together in the raising and mobilizing [of] necessary support to provide the necessary health care to many women and children, who are needlessly dying because of lack of support.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

With the Prime Minister I just had very productive and useful discussions on matters of our common concern.

I congratulated the Prime Minister on her election as the first woman Prime Minister and leading this country. This has a great message again when United Nations and international community are really trying hard to promote gender empowerment.

We discussed the flooding as well as cooperation between the Thailand and the United Nations Thailand's work as Chair of the United Nations Human Rights Council and Thailand's contributions to peace and security, including UN peacekeeping forces.

We also discussed regional issues, including Myanmar and cooperation between ASEAN and the United Nations. I am looking forward to my participation in the fourth UN-ASEAN summit meeting in Bali.

The Prime Minister briefed me on the current situation in Thailand and the efforts that are now under way for a national reconciliation dialogue. I encouraged the Prime Minister to continue these efforts through an inclusive, broad-based process. I also told the Prime Minister that the United Nations stands ready to assist in this important effort, including support for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Thailand is a dynamic United Nations Member State that contributes across the international agenda. I look forward to continuing our work together.

And I thank you very much.

Khop khun khrap!

Thank you.