International relations

Protesters in front of the United Nations Building during the 2009 Bangkok Climate Change Conference—Bangkok is home to several UN offices.

Bangkok's formal international relations are managed by the International Affairs Division of the BMA. Its missions include facilitating cooperation with other major cities through sister city agreements, participation and membership in international organizations, and pursuing cooperative activities with the many foreign diplomatic missions based in the city.

International participation

Bangkok is a member of several international organizations and regional city government networks, including the Asian Network of Major Cities 21, the Japan-led Asian-Pacific City Summit, the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, the ESCAP-sponsored Regional Network of Local Authorities for Management of Human Settlements in Asia and Pacific (CITYNET), Japan's Council of Local Authorities for International Relations, the World Association of the Major Metropolises and Local Governments for Sustainability, among others.

With its geographical location at the heart of mainland Southeast Asia and as one of Asia's hubs of transportation, Bangkok is home to many international and regional organizations. Among others, Bangkok is the seat of the Secretariat of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), as well as the Asia-Pacific regional offices of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Sister cities

Bangkok has made sister city and/or friendship agreements with twenty-three other cities in fifteen countries, as of 2013. They are:

Washington, D.C., United States, since 1962, renewed in 2002 Beijing, China, since 1993 Budapest, Hungary, since 1997 Brisbane, Australia, since 1997 Moscow, Russia, since 1997 Saint Petersburg, Russia, since 1997 Manila, Philippines, since 1997 Jakarta, Indonesia, since 2002 Hanoi, Vietnam, since 2004 Vientiane, Laos, since 2004 Astana, Kazakhstan, since 2004 Chaozhou, China, since 2005 Fukuoka, Japan, since 2006 Seoul, South Korea, since 2006 Guangzhou, China, since 2009 Lausanne, Switzerland, since 2009 Busan, South Korea, since 2011 Chonqing, China, since 2011 Tianjin, China, since 2012 Ankara, Turkey, since 2012 George Town, Malaysia, since 2012 Aichi, Japan, since 2012 Phnom Penh, Cambodia, since 2013