On 15 July 2026, Ms. Bacharee Puengpak, Consul-General at the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Chicago, together with officials and staff of the Consulate-General, welcomed a Thai trade delegation for cassava products at the Consul-General's Residence. The delegation was led by Mrs. Arada Fuangthong, Director-General of the Department of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Commerce. She was accompanied by departmental officials, as well as Ms. Piyachat Pimjuntug, Director of the Thai Trade Center in Chicago, and her team. Together, they held a meeting to discuss strategies for expanding the market for Thai cassava products with U.S. importers, particularly in the State of Illinois, and to strengthen the partnership between Thailand and the United States as trading allies.