On 24 September 2019, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, together with H.E. Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of UN ESCAP, co-hosted a side event  on “Regional Dimension in Achieving SDGs: From Lessons Learned to Practical Action in the ASEAN Region and Beyond” in the margins of the SDG Summit at the United Nations Headquarters, New York. The event was co-organised by Thailand, UN ESCAP and the ASEAN Secretariat with the aim to share ASEAN’s best practices in advancing sustainable development cooperation in the region. The event was attended by representatives from ASEAN Member States, ASEAN’s external partners and UN agencies. High-level participants include H.E. Mr. Teodoro Locsin Jr., Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines, H.E. Mrs. Rosemarie G.Edillon, Undersecretary of the National Economic Development Authority, the Philippines and H.E. Mr. Md Abul Kalam Azad, Principal Coordinator (SDG Affairs), Prime Minister’s Office, Bangladesh.  

In his opening remarks, the Foreign Minister underlined the significant role of regional cooperation in supporting the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To this end, ASEAN has mainstreamed sustainable development into its Community-building agenda by promoting complementarities between the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 and the UN 2030 Agenda, also known as the “Complementarities Initiative”. This Initiative also complements Thailand’s efforts in promoting the Sufficient Economy Philosophy for achieving the SDGs or SEP for SDGs. He also suggested three key elements for taking forward SDGs implementation in ASEAN, namely (1) enhancing regional catalysts for the realisation of the SDGs, including through the establishment of the ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogues (ACSDSD) and the development of the Complementarities Roadmap (2) ensuring that the people of ASEAN are the ultimate development beneficiaries of sustainable development cooperation and (3) strengthening partnership for the SDGs, within ASEAN and beyond.  

During the panel discussion, representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat, UNDP, Norway, and the ACSDSD exchanged views on how ASEAN can concretely translate its regional development vision into concrete actions especially through fostering partnerships and synergies within and beyond the region. It was suggested that ASEAN needs to create platforms for dialogue, where ASEAN Member States can share their experiences, discuss ways forward, and foster constructive engagement with external partners to better implement the SDGs. Therefore, panelists commended Thailand for taking initiative in establishing the ACSDSD to serve this purpose. The Centre is one of the concrete deliverables under Thailand’s ASEAN Chairmanship at the 35^th ASEAN Summit in November 2019 in Bangkok.    

This side event was part of a series of sustainable development activities, organised by Thailand, in its capacity as the ASEAN Coordinator on Sustainable Development Cooperation and the current Chair of ASEAN in 2019. It also reflected ASEAN’s continuing contribution to the global efforts in realising the SDGs and to promoting sustainability in all dimensions at the global level.