On 17 December 2019, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, in capacity as the ASEAN Chair in 2019, delivered a keynote address at an ASEAN Talk in Madrid on the topic of “ASEAN-EU Partnership: Promoting Connectivity for Sustainability”. This event was jointly organised by the ASEAN Committee in Madrid and the Elcano Royal Institute, a think tank specialising in international and strategic studies, with the aim of promoting understanding about ASEAN and fostering a constructive relationship between ASEAN and Spain as well as between ASEAN and the EU.

The Foreign Minister elaborated on ASEAN’s vision on promoting sustainability in all dimensions (i.e., “Sustainability of Things or SOT), especially in the political-security, economic and socio-cultural fields, as well as strengthening mutually beneficial partnerships between ASEAN and external partners, including the EU. He emphasised the importance of enhancing connectivity in various dimensions between ASEAN and the EU through promoting synergies between the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and the EU’s Connecting Europe and Asia Strategy. He also highlighted the importance of implementing the vision to produce concrete outcomes, particularly on global issues and other issues of common interest, including science and technology, innovation, knowledge sharing and capacity building as well as sustainable development and cooperation through the ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue that was set up during Thailand’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2019.