On June 8 -13, 2009, five senior officials from the Pollution Control Department (PCD) of Thailand visited Japan to further a partnership combating soil contamination.  The objective of the visit was to exchange information and best practices with Japanese experts on soil contamination countermeasures that can assist Thailand in developing a national policy framework and institutional arrangements for preventing and rehabilitating soil contamination.  As a next step, PCD will host a consultation workshop in Bangkok in August to discuss the draft national policy framework with stakeholders. The twinning partnership is facilitated under the Asian Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Network (AECEN).